Jump
by Sovereign Beta
Summary: A boarding school, a mysterious spirit, the art of parkour, the new girl, the bad boy, a tumultuous romance...
1. Boarding School

I got the inspiration from the Keri Hilson/Ne-Yo/Kanye West song, "Knocks You Down". For those of you staring in shock at the computer screen:

WHAT?

In addition, this is not a tribute to idiotique's "Shine", nor is it a ripoff. "Jump" isn't good enough to qualify as either.

Warning: Some characters will be OOC as heck, at least in bits and pieces. There will be glitchy personality and plot continuity. Approximately 4/5 people (according to the hits) apparently believe the first chapter to be horrible and don't read the rest of the story. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"It's so ugly."

"Honey, what a school looks like doesn't matter. It's a place to get educated at, not draw."

"Well, wouldn't a school rich enough to afford towers and walls like that, wouldn't some other color than grey be too much to pay for?"

Sixteen-year-old Naminé Miyamoto stared dismally out of the car window at her new home, Arthur Durand Boarding School.

Needless to say she didn't want to be here.

Of course, if her mother, Jennifer Miyamoto, hadn't had the great idea that Naminé needed a 'real' challenge, not the 'substandard' classes of Kingdom Key High, she wouldn't. Namine's father, Ryo Miyamoto, was apparently none too pleased with being coerced into sending Naminé to a boarding school for her junior year, but he also wanted the best for his daughter.

"Naminé, we're here," he said. "You know what to do, right?"

"Yeah, dad," she replied. "Go to the office, sign in, and go to my room."

He smiled. "Good girl."

Naminé gingerly stepped out of the car, still looking at the dull steel gates of the school. She exhaled slowly before helping her father pull her duffel from the trunk. The blonde girl didn't have much with her—just two week's worth of clothing, her drawing materials, and three sketchbooks. She slung the bag and waved goodbye to her parents. They didn't hug or kiss because all three hated the mushy stuff.

And then she turned around to see the school itself.

"Wow..."

The five towers were arranged in a massive pentagon in the center of the school; each one was at least twelve stories tall and fifty feet to a side. Their bases were set upon gigantic circles of concrete that had paths leading towards a center stone that was at least a hundred feet to a side and was surrounded by immaculately green lawns. The entire construction was sunk at least five feet into the ground and ringed by stairs.

And that was just the main area, a proper size analogy of which would be an atom's tiny nucleus to its comparatively massive electron cloud.

The second thing she noticed was the sheer amount of activity on the grounds. She'd expected military discipline—she had prepared for it—not the crazy horseplay occurring before her eyes.

"Waahhh!" A ball streaked not an inch from her head as she ducked.

"Whoa!" A boy ran past after it.

"Watch it!" another boy shouted rudely, running after the first boy. Then the second boy abruptly turned around to take a second look.

"Well, hey there, beautiful," he grinned, brushing his spiky brown hair back. "I'm Sora. What's your name?"

She blushed at the compliment. "Na-Namine. And I wouldn't call myself beautiful," she mumbled, fingering a lock of her hair.

Sora grinned again. "You're too modest. Hey, you're new around here, right? Lemme show you around!" he offered.

"No really, I'm fine; I just have to go to the—waaahhh!" Naminé yelped as Sora grabbed her arm and dragged her off.

Namine had never run so much in her life; she had barely passed PE. She held on for dear life to Sora.

He glanced over his shoulder when her grip tightened a bit, and saw that the blonde was digging her heels in, trying to slow him down. Namine had her eyes squeezed shut in terror, clearly having never run this fast before. Sora immediately slowed down.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, scratching his head in shame.

"I-it's okay," Namine gasped, kneeling down in an attempt to catch her breath. "Can-could you show me to the administration office?"

"Sure," he replied. "It's not too far from here, in that building to the left of the gym. Come on!"

This time they walked to the office. Namine and Sora left once she had signed in.

"Room…126," she murmured, checking her schedule sheet.

Sora's face brightened. "I know the place. My sister's gonna be your roommate!"

The blonde smiled. "She is? What's her name?" she asked.

"Xion," Sora declared. "She's really nice—I'll bet you two'll become fast friends!"

Namine hoped so. She was going to need friends in this place.

Room 126 was in the dormitory building appropriately titled "D" on Namine's map of ADBS. The two reached the light-gray rectangular prism in a few minutes.

"So, what brings you here to this place?" Sora inquired, gesturing at the buildings all around them as the elevator ascended. The walls were made of glass so people could view the breathtaking panorama that was the campus; Building D was the tallest on the grounds.

"I was sent here because apparently Arthur Durand is the best school in Twilight Town," Naminé answered. Her tone turned sarcastic. "My mom wouldn't let me miss out on such a great experience."

Sora chuckled. "Yeah, same here," he smiled. "My dad forced me and my sister to come here, too."

The elevator stopped and its doors opened; they had reached Floor 6.

The young artist shifted her duffel and strode out of the elevator, Sora on her heels. Room 126 was the first dormitory they encountered.

Naminé pushed the door, which was apparently unlocked, open. She timidly said, "Hello…?"

There was no response. Naminé tried again, this time making her voice louder. A shriek of surprise, followed by a loud crash, erupted.

The blonde and the brunette hurried into the room to check on whoever had fallen. A pretty black-haired girl turned out to be the culprit.

"Hi there!" the girl smiled. "I'm Xion. You must be Naminé!"

"Y-yes," Naminé murmured. "I-I'm Naminé. Naminé Miyamoto."

Xion bounded forward and enveloped Namine's left hand in a handshake. "Pleased to meet you!" she squealed.

Naminé winced at the tight grip. "Nice to meet you too, but…"

"Xion, let go of the poor girl," Sora said sternly. "You're about to crush her hand."

Xion immediately released Naminé, who gently nursed her hand in the other. The female brunette grimaced in remorse. "Sorry," Xion muttered, brushing her hair back like her brother had.

"It's okay," Naminé said for the second time that day. She gave Xion a shy smile. "I-I'm new around here. Could you please show me around?"

"I'd love to!" Xion grinned. The brunette's smile was like her brother's as well.

Xion, Sora, and Naminé strolled onto the front lawn of the campus. The blonde asked question after question, learning the various quirks and histories of different aspects of the school.

"So, why are you two here?" Namine asked.

Xion and Sora stiffened.

"Sorry if that was too personal," the petite girl quickly said, regretting ever asking the question.

Sora waved away her concern. "Don't worry about it," he sighed. "Our parents…"

"They sent us here so that we couldn't 'interfere' with their business and moneymaking," Xion finished, but with a trace of bitterness that Sora's voice hadn't possessed.

"They took Xion away from her friends," Sora whispered into Naminé's ear. "She got into a huge fight with Dad over it—they haven't been on casual terms since then."

Namine winced in sympathy. She hadn't had too many friends besides Olette, Pence, and Hayner, but she and they had been more than a little tearful at Namine's departure.

She opened her mouth to try and cheer up her new roommate, but before she could do so, a shadow loomed over her.

"Watch out!"

Naminé's eyes glazed over.

Sora jumped at her, tackling her away from the falling object.

The object turned out to be a green-eyed, redheaded boy with strange tattoos below his eyes. He was clad in a light gray T-shirt and cargo pants.

"Axel, what the hell?" Xion demanded. "What were you trying to do, kill my new roommate?"

"Sorry, Xion," Axel apologized. "Wasn't expecting you three to walk right under me…"

"You could've waited until after we got past, moron," Xion snapped.

"I was already falling!" Axel defended.

As the two bickered, Sora told Naminé, "That's Axel. He's a traceur."

"A traceur?" Namine asked curiously.

"He does parkour."

Naminé breathed in sharply. She'd heard about the art known as parkour. It involved using bare hands and feet to traverse any obstacle one encountered, as quickly, safely, and directly as possible. In her opinion, it was also borderline suicidal.

"Wow…Is Xion too?" Namine said.

"Yeah, she's one of them too. They call themselves the XIII; only four or five of them are still in school," Sora explained.

Naminé nodded. "Wow…" was all she could say again.

That was when she realized Sora was still lying on top of her. "And, uhhhh…"

Sora noticed what his, errrr, _position_ was and immediately rolled off of her. Blonde and brunette blushed furiously.

"Yo, Axel!" somebody called. "What're you doing trying to kill the new girl?"

Axel threw his arms and cried out in frustration. "For the last time, Roxas, I didn't see her!" he snapped.

The boy Axel was talking to, Roxas, walked into Namine's field of vision. She knew they were still arguing, but it didn't really matter.

She was too busy being mesmerized by the newcomer.

Roxas had spiky blond hair, and the upright strands waved invitingly in the light breeze. Every time his blue eyes turned to her when he gestured at her made her heart skip a beat. The gray outfit he, too, wore was stretched over his chest, giving Namine a clear view of his pectoral muscles. His arms and legs were muscular and well toned, with the physique of a gymnast. He was drop-freaking-dead gorgeous.

The petite girl blinked her trance away when she realized Sora was saying something to her. Reality returned with an almost audible rush.

"Yes, Sora?" she said, turning to the brunette and blushing furiously.

Sora was now in a fit of laughter. "I caught you looking at him," he snickered. "Interested?" He emphasized every syllable in the last word.

Naminé's already ruby cheeks darkened to something close to maroon. "Shut up," she hissed, embarrassed.

"Oi! New girl!" a voice called. "Come here!"

His voice...it was husky, and yet raspy, deep and deep...

And then Naminé realized Roxa was talking to her, and nervously placed a hand on her chest as if to say, "M-Me? Really?"

"Yeah!" Roxas hollered.

Naminé apprehensively approached her fellow blond. She shyly held a hand out to shake in greeting.

To her complete shock Roxas took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. The artist immediately jerked her hand away.

"That's the way you greet a beautiful woman," the blond traceur smirked.

If she wasn't before Naminé was most certainly flushing crimson right now. She warily took a step back.

"I'm not beautiful…" she said slowly, forcing down the urge to add, "But you are."

Roxas chuckled. "And modest too…I like that," he observed in a sly voice, eyes flickering up and down the artist's body.

Said artist raised a hand and smacked it across the spiky-haired traceur's face. Naminé stormed off, again embarrassed. From behind her she could hear peals of laughter from Xion and Axel, sympathetic but still amused.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I know it's horrible right now, but I swear that this story will get faster and better later on. It is, after all, my first REAL foray into 3rd POV (not the half-assed story that was Redemption).

I also know that I don't know the first thing about parkour. If some of my information is wrong, then for the love of God tell me so I can change it.

So tell me what you think of this. Was it great? Good? So-so? Quarter-assed?

Just click the review tool to give me a piece of your mind—positive or negative. Flames are appreciated but only if they tell me something useful.


	2. Just in Time

I give up trying to indent all of my paragraphs.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Namine sighed in pleasure as a jet of warm water hit her bare back. She didn't dilly-dally in the shower, though, immediately grabbing the shampoo bottle.

She had become fast friends with Sora and Xion, both of whom seemed to be genetically dispensed to being welcoming. As such she had protested when Xion offered to let her shower first.

"But you're my senior at this school!" Namine argued.

That was before Xion told her just how early warm water was cut off.

It would have been rude to leave Xion without the chance to shower, and the artist already felt awkward showering before her roommate. As such Namine stepped out of the small glass cage after a mere four minutes.

"Xion!" she called. "Done!"

"Fast," the brunette girl replied in surprise. "Can I come in?"

"I'm naked!"

"I'm a girl too, you know."

"But—"

The door creaked open. Namine shrieked and wrapped her towel around herself in an attempt to retain her modesty.

"Namine, trust me when I tell you this," Xion remarked. "One of these days I'm gonna barge in for some reason, and it's better to get used to being naked in front of your roommate anyways."

"Fine," Namine mumbled. She quickly dried off, Xion watching her the whole time.

The brunette nodded approvingly. "Nice body," she observed. "A lot of people are gonna be very interested in you, girl."

"That sounded kind of creepy…"

Xion just laughed.

While her roommate showered, Namine booted up their room's PC. The blonde took a moment to study her reflection in the mirrored obsidian screen.

Waist-length blonde hair framed a heart-shaped face. Almond-shaped ice blue eyes neighbored a long, slim nose. Full lips were set just above a small chin.

Namine had gotten most of her features from her mother, and in the daughter's opinion a lot of people's faces resembled hers. So what was so beautiful about her anyways?

The computer finished starting and brought up the account screen.

"Xion, what's the password?"

"There isn't one!"

"That's not really safe," Namine muttered to herself, double clicking the Firefox browser.

To her disappointment Youtube was blocked, but at least deviantArt wasn't.

As the artist explored the website in search of an inspiration for her next drawing, she became aware that the constant rushing noise of the shower had stopped.

Namine turned her head to see Xion, in nothing more than a loosely tied bathrobe, approximately six inches away.

The blonde felt her face turn warm.

"What's wrong?" Xion asked in a coy voice. "A bit hot?"

"Yes—I mean no! I mean…" Namine's voice trailed off as Xion leaned in even closer. Her eyes widened as a hand slipped the shoulder of her shirt down her arm.

"Why don't I…cool you off a bit?" the brunette said seductively. Her lips were now a hair's-breadth from Namine's bare shoulder.

"Bu-but-bu-but—" the flustered blonde stammered. Crimson heat crept up from her neck to her forehead.

Xion was suddenly on the floor, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard tears were leaking out from between compressed eyelids.

"Oh my god—you were like—so red—and you—oh my god!" Xion gasped between cackles. "I am bisexual, but…Jesus! You just got punked so hard!"

For the first time in her sixteen winters of life, Namine Miyamoto gave somebody the death glare.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

School began on September 1st, which was on Wednesday, so Namine, Xion, and Sora had one more day of freedom.

Bored out of their minds, the trio was exploring the grounds.

"Wait," Namine said. "I want to sketch that tower right there." She pointed at a massive edifice off in the distance.

"That's the clock tower, if you didn't know," Xion explained. "Me and Sora used to go up there and eat ice cream."

"Used to! Now you never spend time with me!" Sora declared with an indignant expression. "It's always Axel this, Axel that! I know you want to screw him and all, but sheesh!"

Xion turned beet red. "I do not!" she shouted, lunging at Sora and putting him into a headlock.

The blonde chose to ignore the bickering siblings and looked around for someplace to sit. Finding none, she chose to simply sit down on the ground.

The artist began with broad but light strokes, constructing the general shape of the clock tower.

"Namine! Help!" Sora choked. "Can't…breathe…"

Namine looked up from her sketchbook to see Xion strangling her brother, who was now turning indigo.

The blonde immediately ran up to the enraged girl and pried adamant fingers one by one off of Sora's bruised throat. She had to restrain Xion while he pathetically crawled away on all fours.

"Anger management, Xion," Namine murmured. "Please?"

"I'll kill you for that, Sora!" Xion shrieked. "Let go of me!"

The boy managed to get to his feet and began sprinting away.

Then he did something unimaginably idiotic: he stuck his tongue out tauntingly at his sister.

With a roar of fury, Xion broke free and charged down the corridor after him.

"Xion, wait!" Namine shouted. She winced, hoping that Sora wouldn't be too badly hurt.

The artist knew she'd never be able to catch either of the feuding siblings, so she decided to continue the drawing.

But as her pencil twirled and danced over the paper like a ballerina, Namine slowly became aware of a presence behind her.

She jumped, nearly dropping her sketchbook, when she heard the piercing whistle.

She looked around to see a tall boy behind her. His blue beanie hid his hair, and the sleeves of his school jacket were cut off to emphasize the bulging muscles in his arms.

"H-h-h-h-hi," Namine stuttered. She willed her racing heart to slow down.

"Hey," the boy grinned. "I'm Seifer. Who're you, beautiful?"

Seifer took a step closer and Namine took one back. She didn't like the tone in his voice when he called her "beautiful". Sora had done so as well, but the friendly brunette's tone had been half-joking then.

"Oh, I wouldn't call myself beautiful," the blonde murmured. She overrode her fear to stare him in the eye.

Seifer easily saw through her attempt at getting him to leave. When she turned to leave he grabbed her wrist.

"Let me go," Namine said icily, emphasizing each monosyllable. She tried to disentangle her fingers from his, to no avail.

"I don't think so," Seifer replied in an equally frigid tone. "Now…what's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" she retorted.

Seifer slammed her against the wall so fast she had no time to react.

"Because," he smiled again. This time the smile had no façade of friendliness, only its true form of lust.

Namine struggled against Seifer's iron grasp, writhing in an attempt to free her pinned forearms.

Her wrists were suddenly clamped together over her head by one of his hands. The other hand slowly caressed her side.

"Release me!" Namine growled.

"Or what?" Seifer asked. He triumphantly smirked and leaned in. "There's no one else here, after all."

"Except me."

Seifer whipped around, and both he and Namine's eyes widened as they saw who had spoken.

Roxas perched on the open-air window, hands resting on his knees. With an easy leap he landed, crouching on the balls of his feet, not three feet from the two.

"My, my," he sighed, theatrically brushing nonexistent dust off of his jacket. "When a girl says no, Almasy, she means it. Do I have to teach you that again?"

"Back off, Takahashi!" Seifer snarled. He jerked his hand forward, pulling Namine forward. She gasped in pain as her wrists ground together. "This is between me and the new girl!"

"New girl," Roxas said coolly. "Did you want Seifer to do this to you?"

"Hell, no," Namine spat. She glowered at Seifer.

The blond parkourist turned back to the other boy. "Well, Seifer," Roxas drawled, "She doesn't want you. So why don't you back off before somebody gets hurt?"

Siefer let go of Namine's wrists and lunged at Roxas. The parkourist effortlessly evaded the clumsy attack, hooking the back of Seifer's collar and using his opponent's own momentum to force him towards the window.

Roxas held Seifer over the edge, with one finger barely preventing the latter from falling. Seifer dipped forward and was treated to a spectacular view of the ground and the intervening fifty feet of thin air.

"Okay, okay!" Seifer finally yelled. "I give up! I'm sorry!"

"Really?" Roxas yawned. "I mean, I daresay Namine here wouldn't be that quick to forgive…"

The girl rushed forward and heaved on Seifer's collar, straining to pull him back. "I wouldn't," she shouted. "But I wouldn't appreciate it if somebody died either!"

Somewhat reluctantly, Roxas pulled Seifer back into the building. "No sneaky punches, okay?" Roxas warned. "Or I won't show mercy the next time."

Seifer took a moment to glare at both of them before fleeing.

"You okay?" the parkourist quietly asked. "You look a bit shaky."

Namine realized that she was indeed a bit unsteady on her feet. She sat down, the lower altitude quickly clearing her head.

After a moment the parkourist made to exit, but Namine grabbed his hand, tugging him towards her.

"Don't go," she whispered. She raced to find an excuse at his confused face. "I mean…what if he comes back?"

Roxas's face split into a dazzling smile. "Don't worry about that," he assured. "He's not going anywhere near you anytime soon. I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," Namine smiled back. She clutched at the parkourist's arm like a teddy bear, rocking back and forth and slowly dozing off.

She never noticed Roxas's surprised expression morphing into a massive blush as she did so.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"OW!" Sora complained as Namine dabbed ointment on the scrape.

"Hold still," she soothed. "This'll be quick, I promise."

The artist applied a bandage to Sora's last injury before helping him to his feet.

Xion sat on her bed, arms folded. She scowled at her brother.

"Unless you want this to happen again," she snarled. "DON'T bring up Axel!"

Sora backed away fearfully. "Please don't hurt me," he pleaded.

"Yeah, your pretty face is all you have," Roxas smirked. He was leaning in the corner, arms crossed like Xion.

The brunette glared at the parkourist. "Shut up!" he yelled hotly. "You're not too different!"

The blond just laughed. "So says a desperate boy," he mocked.

"Roxas!" Namine scolded. "Can't you see he's hurt?"

Sora was, in fact, near tears. Seconds later he burst into hysterics and ran out of the room.

"!"

His scream echoed down the hallway. Namine stared at the door he had smashed through, stunned, before menacingly turning back to Roxas.

"You…" she snarled.

The parkourist wisely chose to flee like Sora had.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I think the last part was a bit random. Unfortunately I thought up of the perfect scene in biology class—and then forgot it. ARGH!

Has that ever happened to you?


	3. First Day

I may have to put one of the stories on hiatus to prevent updates from slowing to a crawl.

On the other hand, I could just rotate updates—Lost and Found one week, Jump the second, The Wanderer the third…

Yeah, I think the second option's better. But who knows, maybe I'll find a better option.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"I've got English first, Shop class second, Algebra 2 third, and Art last," Namine read, looking at the tiny slip of paper clenched in her hand. "What've you two got?"

Sora studied his schedule. "Algebra 1 first, Shop class second like you, Biology third, and English last."

"Algebra 2 first, English second, Chemistry third, and…and…what's this last?" Xion asked, holding her paper out for Namine to see. "I don't think my eyes are working right."

"Choir?" the blonde said. "Yeah, Choir's not really for you…"

Namine had had the misfortune of acquiring first-hand experience of Xion's singing last night. Mutes could sing better than the brunette girl by dint of not being able to say anything at all.

"Why, God? WHY?" Sora shouted, drawing strange looks from passersby.

"What's wrong?" Namine asked.

"He has no intellectual classes with either of us," Xion sneered.

Sora glared at his sister. "And what's wrong with helping out a classmate in need, huh?" he challenged.

"Oh, I don't know, like getting your notes copied every single FRICKIN' day?" Xion replied airily. "Seriously, Sora—pay attention! It might help your grades a bit!"

The boy pouted, but before he could respond the bell rang.

"Gotta go!" Xion called back at the blonde, who may as well have been standing still. "See ya, Namine!"

Namine stared at Xion, who was already far away, for a second, before sighing in resignation and beginning the long trek to B Building, the languages center.

The English 11 classroom, on the fifth floor, was neat, organized, and spartanly decorated. Blue-grey wallpaper was left unmarred by the normal smattering of pinned-up essays. Those were arranged along the back wall in a small box marked out by red yarn.

Namine took a fourth-aisle seat by the window as Ms. Lockhart did roll call.

"Merrill, Lucy!"

"Present."

"Miyamoto, Namine!"

"Present."

"Perry, Jacques!"

"Present."

As the teacher completed roll call and the lecture began, Namine rested her chin on her desk.

She'd fallen asleep at twelve, been shocked awake by the ear-shattering wake-up alarm at six thirty, and she really, really, really wanted to go to sleep.

"Maybe Ms. Lockhart won't mind if I take a quick catnap," she muttered. "Yeah, she looks like a nice person…"

She was babbling now, her sleep-deprived mind slowly shutting down her body, the warm autumn breeze rather soothing across her neck and face…

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Namine screamed, falling off of her chair. She got back up, brushing stray bangs out of her eyes, to see—

"ROXAS!" The shriek from every girl in the class made Namine jump again.

"So nice of you to pop in, Mr. Takahashi," Ms. Lockhart said dryly. "Especially considering the stories I've heard about you."

"Well, I'm not one to pass up being in a class with so many cute girls," Roxas grinned, climbing down from the sill.

"Also a lady's man," Ms. Lockhart muttered, pantomiming writing on a clipboard like a shrink. "Miss Miyamoto, you can sit down now."

Namine realized she was still standing up and immediately took her seat. Roxas sat down behind her.

Encouraged by the protests and invitations of the other girls, Namine made a shooing motion at him. When he didn't move she shot him a death glare that could've seen off a fleet of Posleen battle globes.

His reaction was…oh, please God, no…

"Must—resist—puppy eyes—" Namine grunted, trying to look away. Her little brother Ventus frequently pulled the same trick on her and it almost always worked.

"Please?" Roxas begged, clasping his hands. "Pweeeease? Pretty please with cherry on top?"

His voice had entered the really annoying decibel range, but at the same time Namine wanted to giggle at his (she had to admit it)…cute… groveling.

She slapped a hand over her eyes, just knowing this was going to come back and bite her in the ass later. "Fine," she grumbled. "You can sit here."

Roxas gave a decidedly immature yelp of glee before plopping down on the seat behind her. Namine leaned forward, away from him, attempting to get as far from him as was physically possible. He responded by bending towards her.

The artist sprung her trap, slamming her head backwards. She was sure he had gotten too close to disengage, too close to back away before the back of her head connected with his face…

So Namine was quite surprised, to say the least, when she felt the tip of his nose lightly pressing into the base of her skull.

He inhaled the scent of her hair, sighing in obvious pleasure. Namine jerked away and glared at him a second time.

"Creep," she muttered.

He just smirked in reply. "I do my best," he said.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Trigonometry was on the sixth floor of E Building, the sciences building. Namine took two steps into the classroom and immediately turned around, hoping that the teacher hadn't seen her.

She wished in vain.

"Miss Miyamoto, may I ask why you're leaving so soon?"

With a frustrated sigh the blonde headed for the only seat left. As she had expected Roxas was sitting behind it.

"Do you have a fetish for girls' backs?" Namine asked him as she sat down.

"Only yours!" he declared with a lopsided grin.

Namine ignored the near-instant hurricane of protests (towards Roxas) and insults (towards her) and zeroed in on the whiteboard, where the lecture was already starting.

As she wrote down a note about secants being the upside-down variant of cosines, something poked her in the side.

Namine bucked but did not turn around to see who had done it. There was no doubt as to who had jabbed her.

Barely two minutes later, another poke, this one on the back of her neck, made her whip around.

"Stop it!" she hissed at Roxas.

"Stop what?" he smirked.

"Stop poking me!"

"I'm not poking you!"

"ARRGGGHHHH…"

Namine racked her mind for a deterrent. Finding no nonphysical ones, she decided to simply poke him back.

"Ow! What was THAT FOR?" Roxas whined, rubbing his throat.

"You know what," Namine snarled.

"What?"

She was getting more than a little fed up with his evasive answers, but managed to calm herself and turn back around.

Then a finger dug into her shoulder.

"Stop doing that!"

"But I didn't—"

Namine exploded.

"STOP POKING ME, DAMMIT! IF YOU DON'T STOP POKING I SWEAR I'LL—"

Nobody found out what Namine intended to do to Roxas if he didn't stop poking her, as everybody was too busy staring at her in shock.

Namine looked around at her wide-eyed classmates and timidly shrunk back down into her seat. "Never mind," she mumbled weakly.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Namine couldn't run away from the classroom fast enough—mostly because Roxas kept up with her with an easy lope.

"I notice we aren't heading for the mess hall," he observed.

"No kidding," she retorted without even looking at him.

"Why?"

"None of your business."

"Why?"

"None of your business!"

"Why?"

"Go away!"

"Why?"

She simply could not believe how easily he could drive her to near-insanity with just that one word.

"Alright I'll tell you! But first, you have to close your eyes and count to twenty—no, thirty. Make that sixty. And turn around in circles while you're at it."

As Roxas turned around in circles and counted, Namine rushed to find a hiding spot.

The trees? She was no climber.

The corner? Too easy.

Then where?

"Gotta hide, gotta hide," she mumbled nervously. "Wait, I've got it!"

Namine dashed away for the gigantic front lawn. It was so huge he shouldn't be able to find her.

When she had found a suitable area, she spent several minutes checking around her to make sure nobody was around.

When he didn't show up after a good ten minutes, Namine relaxed and sat down.

She'd brought her sketchbook and pencils along; now all she wanted to do was draw something, anything, to soothe herself.

A giant arc marked the gentle perspective curve of the vista in front of her. Quickly drawn tufts of grass completed the lawn, and she began on individual people.

The brown-haired girl was impossible to draw because of her animated waving of her arms, so Namine decided to sketch the raven-haired boy quietly reading a book against a tree.

But as she began with the tree's thick foliage…

"Nice drawing there."

For the second time that day, Namine screamed in terror. She clutched her pounding chest and glared at the chuckling Roxas.

"I thought you said something about that a girl's no really does mean no," she growled. The adrenaline had only just ebbed away.

"For you and Seifer, yes. For you and me…well, I can see that you really do want me here," Roxas remarked. He gave her that lopsided grin again.

"Dream on," she said, before returning to her drawing.

"Oh? What about yesterday, when you snuggled up to me?" he inquired, lying down on the grass.

Namine glanced at him, startled. "WHAT? I don't remember doing that!" she shouted angrily.

"You did anyways," he replied. "I had to carry you back to your dorm."

Now she did recall being…she turned pink at the memory.

"I deny that that ever happened," she muttered.

"Are you blushing?" Roxas asked half-teasingly.

She turned away.

"Come on, let me see it…"

Namine rotated herself every time Roxas moved in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her ever-reddening face. But she couldn't prevent that from happening forever.

"You know you're really cute when you blush, right?"

The artist's eyes widened at the unexpected compliment.

"I don't think I've ever quite seen a lovelier shade of ruby. Reminds me of a certain—"

Roxas easily, but still only barely, managed to dodge the sideways swipe of Namine's pencil.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

No, Namine will not hate on Roxas like in "Masks". He just annoys her a bit, and (although she herself doesn't realize it) charms her.

Will I do a love triangle? Perhaps, but in this one Sora's not much of a competitor for Roxas. Riku, maybe? Or perhaps I could fit in a RikuXKairiXSora triangle…

Yeah, maybe…

By the way, guess who the brunette boy is. He's coming up later.


	4. ON YOUR FEET!

4 REVIEWS! Sweet…

Word 2007's default font is Calibri 11, but I always change it to Times New Roman 12 whenever I write. TNR was the default for Word 2003, which was the program I used up until several weeks ago.

Old habits die hard, I guess. Or in this case, defaults.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Art was laughably easy. Ms. Gainsborough simply expected her students to do their best in art, come whatever may result of that best. She usually gave A's and rarely, if ever, graded on quality.

But may the gods help you if you screwed around in her class. Oh, you were so dead if that happened.

But Namine liked it, for the simple reason she could get a reprieve from Roxas.

Her fourth class was Shop. She had taken it in her freshman year, and she still knew how to work the tools and machine wood.

However, she was a bit nervous when she saw that she was apparently the only girl in her entire class.

Catcalls and whistles greeted her when she walked through the door.

"Hey, doll! Come sit here!" a wild-looking redhead called.

Namine shuddered. "No thanks!" she called back.

The boy groaned as his friends chuckled. "Oh, don't be like that!" he grinned. "You've met me before!"

Come to think of it, he did seem familiar. Namine's eyes widened in recognition as she realized who the redhead was. "You're the one who nearly squashed me on Monday!"

Axel placed a hand over his heart. "Guilty as charged. Now, could you come over here? I swear to God I have no ulterior motives," he said dryly.

She sighed and took a seat next to him, expecting him to lean in and screw with her in the way only a guy could.

He didn't. Instead, Axel clapped her back. "Guys, this is Namine—Xion's new roommate," he introduced.

She looked around at the other three people sitting around the table.

"I'm Demyx," a blond boy with a mullet grinned.

"Zexion," a morose boy with dark gray hair hanging over his left eye murmured.

"You can call me Larxene," a blond girl with two antennae-like locks of hair yawned.

"So I'm not the only girl in here," Namine smiled. "That's a relief."

Axel snickered. "Oh, I wouldn't call Larxene a girl…" he smirked.

The antennae-haired girl smacked him across the head. "Shut up!" she shouted.

Namine intervened before the situation could devolve further.

"So are you three parkourists, too?" she asked, gesturing towards Zexion, Demyx, and Larxene.

"Yeah, we are," Larxene confirmed, still glaring at Axel.

"Demyx is the newbie," Zexion added. "He joined over summer vacation."

"But what about Xion?"

"Her? She's been with us since her freshman year," Axel stated. "Just not as an official member."

"Wow," Namine murmured. "I thought she'd just joined…"

Before Axel could respond, a series of loud thuds heralded the coming of something truly titanic.

THUD. THUD. _THUD_.

The artist's already pale face went ashen as a massive man strolled into the classroom.

"Roll call, maggots!" he bellowed. "On your feet!"

Namine and the others instantly did as they were told. Truth be told, the blonde artist was scared stiff by the giant teacher; her old Shop teacher was a mild-mannered, kindly man.

When he got to her name…

"MIYAMOTO!"

"H-h-h-h-h-h—" she stuttered.

He seemed to teleport over to her, he moved so fast. "Well?" he snarled. "Are you Namine Miyamoto?"

"Y-y-y-y-y-ye-ye-ye—"

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"YESSIR!" she yelped, jolted into response. "PRESENT!"

He snorted with disgust and checked off her name.

After that hellish roll call was over, the teacher walked to the front of the class (or side, depending on which angle you viewed it from) and began his speech.

"AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, MY NAME IS MR. WALLACE!" he thundered. "YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS SUCH OR AS SIR! YOU WILL ONLY SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO! IS THAT CLEAR?"

"YESSIR!" everyone shouted.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU PUNY RUNTS! I SAID, IS THAT CLEAR!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" everyone shouted again, this time higher than at the top of their lungs.

"Acceptable," he grunted. "This is the Shop class. It is the meanest, deadliest, most unforgiving place on this entire campus. This is the class with the single most permanent injuries occurring. This is the class," he growled, "Where you will get FINGERS CUT OFF!"

Everyone but Namine shivered. She started whimpering; freshman Shop hadn't told her of this.

Mr. Wallace began walking among the work tables, occasionally glaring from his massive height at his cowering students.

"So," he hissed in a soft, yet dangerous voice. "You people are either the bravest or the dumbest people in the entire damn school to be here."

Namine didn't quite shut her lips fast enough. "Or you could've simply had the class before," she murmured.

For a second it looked like he hadn't heard. For a single, joyful second…

"Really, Miyamoto?" Mr. Wallace whispered, his eyes glittering like a cobra's. "Do you really think that?"

Amazingly, Namine somehow plucked up the courage to speak. "Yes, sir," she bravely replied.

He was in front of her faster than she could blink. "Look at this," he grunted, raising (or lowering) his bicep to her face. "Do you see that scar there?"

The petite girl couldn't help but notice that the vast muscle was approximately as large as her head. The gigantic scar (read: canyon) itself would've split said head in half.

"Yes sir," she confirmed. "I see it."

"I got this scar of mine working that table saw there," he growled, pointing at the offending machine. "So, Miyamoto, who was your first Shop teacher? I need to beat the crap outta him for not teaching you about this stuff."

"C-C-C-Cloud Strife, sir," she mumbled.

Mr. Wallace's beady eyes widened slightly with recognition. "Cloud Strife, huh?" he sneered. "Cloud "Buster Sword" Strife?"

Namine didn't recognize the nickname, but she said, "Yes," anyways.

A booming roar erupted from somewhere to Namine's front. It took her a second to realize it was being emitted from the titan standing before her. And that said roar of apparent rage was really a laugh.

"So, Captain Strife was your old Shop teacher, huh?" he chuckled.

"Captain?" Axel asked, surprised out of his fear.

"We were war buddies," Mr. Wallace explained. "We were assigned to the same squad, became sergeants at the same time, and I eventually became his first sergeant, and damn was he a good officer."

He chuckled again and patted Namine's head, nearly snapping her neck in the process.

"I'd expect he taught you well in the art of woodworking?" he inquired.

"Yes sir," she replied with some relief. She could sense the worst of it was over.

He graced her with a wide smile. "Good for you," he said, and then he stalked away.

After Mr. Wallace had left, Axel and Demyx leaned in, wide-eyed and obviously shocked.

"I'm impressed, girl," Axel muttered. "You survived the .50 Cal. And I thought you were a wuss…"

Namine would have been angered by the indirect insult, but she more curious about the obscure reference that was presumably Mr. Wallace's nickname among students.

"What's the .50 Cal?" she asked.

Larxene whistled. "You don't know? I'll give you a hint—Mr. Wallace's first name is Barrett."

"I still don't get it," Namine replied.

Zexion sneered at her. "The Barrett .50 Cal is an iconic sniper rifle," he said. "As a reference, one hit from one of its bullets will rip _you_ in half."

"Oh." Namine's voice was small and fearful. "Oh my. No wonder Mr. Wallace is called that."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Most of the reason Namine had been sent to Arthur Durand Boarding School had nothing to do with her intelligence.

In other words, she was done with her trigonometry homework before Xion could even comprehend the first problem.

"Namine, could you help me with this?" she finally asked, slapping her forehead in frustration.

"Sure." The blonde climbed up the ladder of the bunk bed and sat beside her roommate.

"So, I forget—what's the trig equation for sin(2x)?" Xion inquired.

The artist cupped her chin and searched through her memory for a moment.

"I think it's…2sinx times cosx," Namine answered slowly. "Lemme check…yeah, it's that."

"Okay. Thanks!" Xion said gratefully. "And how do you even remember all this stuff?"

Namine shrugged. "I don't know, really."

The brunette girl sighed. "Well, whatever it is, I sure wish I had it," she grumbled.

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Xion said, before gracefully jumping off the bed and landing in a crouch.

Namine's view of whoever it had come was obscured by the door itself, so she climbed down to get a better angle.

It was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair dressed in a very revealing V-neck. "Hi girls!" she said brightly. "There's gonna be a party on the eighth floor—you wanna come?"

"Why not?" Xion replied. She grinned. "It sounds one heck of a lot more fun than trig homework."

The girl laughed. "No kidding. The party's at eight, so you should have…thirty minutes before then?"

"Eight o'clock it is, then," Xion confirmed.

"See you then!" The girl was off before Xion could return the goodbye.

"I'm not going," Namine said before her roommate could speak.

"Come on, Namine. It'll be fun!" Xion argued.

Frightening images of date rape and death by alcohol poisoning flashed before Namine's eyes.

"I'd rather not," she replied gravely. "I have no intention of being a victim."

Her brunette roommate groaned. "Namine, this is ADBS you're talking about. I've been here for at least two years now, and not once have I ever seen the stuff you're probably thinking about happening! Yuna and Selphie's parties are always safe!"

Namine's resistance was crumbling before her friend's onslaught of impassioned pleading.

"Fine…" she sighed. "I'll try it."

Xion grinned. "You won't regret it," the brunette promised.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"I am not wearing this!"

"You have to! Don't you want to get hit on?"

"No! At least not yet…"

"Come on, you're a junior! You're supposed to be flirting!"

"I think you're confusing junior with senior."

"Goddammit, Namine, if you don't come out of there in ten seconds I'm dragging you out!"

There was no response besides a thump and a muffled curse, and then a sigh.

"Ten. Nine. Eight."

The bathroom door burst open. Namine stood there, dressed in leg-hugging jeans and a strapless, snow-white tube top hanging just below her shoulders. Detached sleeves hung on her forearms.

"You look amazing!" Xion declared, placing her hands on her hips. The brunette's outfit was a black miniskirt along with a long-sleeved T-shirt.

The blonde artist ran her hands up her sides. "I look like an absolute whore," she grumbled. "I mean, my chest looks like it's about to spill out of my shirt."

"You don't have much of a chest," Xion pointed out. "And that tube top is _figure-hugging_."

"Okay, good point."

The duo entered the elevator and ordered it to the eighth floor. It stopped at the seventh.

"Who—" Xion started, but was cut off as the door opened.

It was a diamond formation of four boys. Zexion and Demyx were flanking. Axel was behind and slightly to the left. And in front of them, squarely in Namine's line of sight, was…

"Roxas?" she squeaked. "Oh, no…"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Recognize Namine's outfit? ;)

By the way, next chapter will have an FAQ! So fire away!

Review!  
Review!  
Review, Review, REVIEW!

Review!

Review!

Review, Review, REVIEW!

Review, please, please please please ple—

_KABLOOIE!_


	5. Ice and Lapis

The teddy bear Mr. Brown can go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks for all I care.

In case you're wondering, yes, all of my stories (barring The Wanderer) sprang from plot bunnies or inspirations. But I always refine them, rethink them, rebuild them so that they become worth my time to write and worth your time to read.

I hope. And yes, I changed the name of this story.

FAQ time!

DSCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

* * *

Namine continued to huddle behind Xion, switching to different sides of the brunette girl whenever _he _got close.

"What's wrong with you?" Roxas grumbled. "It's not like I want to kill you or anything."

She didn't believe it for a second.

"Roxas, what did you do to her?" Xion asked.

"I just annoyed her a bit…"

The brunette girl sighed and slapped her forehead, sliding the hand down her face.

"She's the new girl," Xion growled. "You don't do that to new girls you like. At least not yet…"

The blond parkourist flushed a deep crimson. "W-W-WHAAAAT?" he spluttered. "I don't like her!"

"Says you," Axel yawned. "I've seen the way you stalk her—OOF!"

Roxas had elbowed the redhead to shut him up, but it was too late.

"You stalk me?" she shrieked, disgusted. "Oh, my god."

"I wasn't sta—_shadowing_ you because I like you!" he shouted, waving his arms over his head. "I do that so I can, uhhh…protect you, you know? Remember Seifer?"

Namine shuddered. She did indeed.

"Well, I guess that's okay then," she squeaked. "As long as it's just for that…"

He smirked. "I do know your room number," he observed.

She slapped him. "PERVERT!" she yelled.

"So you do like her," Xion smirked. "Thought so…"

Before Roxas could explode at the brunette, the floor indicator switched to a neon green symbol.

"Oh look, we're here," Namine interrupted, randomly groping for an arm to grab.

Her now claw-like hand clenched and she dragged whoever had been behind her out of the elevator.

"Okay, Xion, we need to—oh, hell."

She'd hoped—no, she'd thought she'd taken the brunette girl with her.

"I'm not Xion," Roxas frowned.

Namine gritted her teeth and stomped away from the spiky-haired blond. "Go away," she snarled, heading for the bend in the L-shaped hallway.

The party was nothing like what she had envisioned. Most of it was outside in the rather wide hallway, but she could see the light coming out of a few open doors.

Where was the loud music? The raucous laughing? The drunken partygoers and the drunken sex?

"I guess Xion was right," Namine muttered. She spotted a drinks table and made her way towards it.

Zexion, despite being behind Roxas, had somehow made it there before her. He tacitly passed a cup of Sprite to her.

"Thank you," she said. "But how did you know I wanted Sprite?"

"I didn't," Zexion replied, before pulling out a small novel.

There was, in fact, loud music, but it was nearly drowned out by the decibel range of the dozen or so conversations going on.

"Oh look, there's the new girl."

"Her name's Nami—Namine? Yeah, I think that's it…"

"I heard she's already met Roxas."

"Really? I wonder if he likes her."

Namine blushed a faint scarlet at that.

"He might. She's so pretty."

"I wish I was as thin as her."

The artist picked up the pace and strode over to where Axel and Demyx were talking to and laughing with a pair of girls.

Just as she was about to tap the redhead's shoulder, a finger tapped hers.

"Whoa!" Namine yelped, jumping. She turned around to find Roxas looking innocently at her.

"Hi," he smiled.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

He pouted cutely. "I just wanted to talk," he said.

"About what?"

"I just wanted to…well…get to know you better." He scratched his head awkwardly.

Namine arched an eyebrow. She had nothing against that, but she wasn't sure if he was being sincere. Especially considering how much he'd annoyed her less than eight hours ago.

"Okay," she responded slowly.

Roxas grinned happily. "Cool," he declared. "Follow me."

She kept the eyebrow raised but obeyed. Roxas led her into a room and stopped by the window.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Now what?"

Roxas tugged open the glass pane. "You'll see," he declared. He motioned at his back. "Climb on."

"What are you doing?" she asked warily.

He sighed in frustration. "I said, you'll see. Now climb on; I swear I won't let you fall."

Fall? That didn't sound promising.

But somehow, against her better judgment, Namine found herself wrapping her sleeved arms around his neck.

"Well?" she said. "What are—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Roxas had stepped onto the window sill and was now hanging onto the sides by his fingertips. "Trust me," he yelled over the rushing wind.

"No, Roxas WAIT—"

Namine's tongue was frozen in terror as Roxas jumped out of the window. Her life flashed before her eyes.

SHE WAS FALLING!

"OhmigodohmigodohmigodOHMIGOD—"

No, she wasn't. If so she'd be screaming her head off, not cursing.

Why couldn't she shut her eyes? She could distinctly see the school lawn far below her as Roxas shimmied along the wall. Air whistled through her ears and blew her hair nearly horizontal.

"Don't look down!" Roxas yelled.

Her response was a muffled squeak.

He swung to the left, crouched a bit, and _jumped. _

She screamed as they soared through the air. Roxas jumped and reached up, expertly locating a handhold. A powerful yet graceful contraction of his arms shot him skywards.

His feett caught a solid hold on the upper sill and he fired every muscle in his legs, propelling him and his passenger up to the next window.

As Roxas scaled the building floor by floor, Namine could hear him chanting something.

"From the halls of Montezuma—"

Floor 10 flashed by.

"To the stars of Ori III—"

Roxas jumped to a window on his right.

"We will fight our planet's battles—"

The eleventh row of windows was conquered.

"In space, on land and sea—"

Namine could've sworn she saw a shocked face behind the twelfth story window.

"First to fight for rights and freedom—"

Ten fingertips hooked onto the stainless steel of the rooftop.

"And to keep our honor clean—"

He pulled up with every ounce of power in his chiseled muscles, grabbing a hold of the railing.

"We are proud to claim the title of—"

Roxas swung over the metal bar, with just a little too much power.

"_The Allied Space Marines_—WHOA!"

For a few moments she could neither contain her thundering heartbeat nor convince her arms to release Roxas.

Mostly because they had ended up in a tangled heap.

Namine realized she was lying on top of Roxas and immediately rolled off of him, a blush already shading the alabaster of her cheeks. She hoped it was dark enough that he couldn't see.

"I think I overdid the railing," he groaned, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not used to carrying someone…"

"How did you do that?" Namine wondered. "I mean, I'd never have thought climbing a wall like that would be humanly possible."

Roxas smiled slightly. "Lots and lots of practice," he replied, hopping to his feet.

The blond parkourist walked over to the railing and lay down, resting his head in his hands.

"Come on," he invited. "Sit down."

Namine carefully positioned the delicate sleeves (they were Xion's, not hers) before lying down next to him.

For a moment the two simply gazed at the night sky and the faintly visible stars floating in it.

She broke the silence. "So, do you usually come here?" Namine asked.

He nodded. "I found this spot the night I joined the XIII. It was a place where I could just…get away."

"Why?" she asked. "Why would you want to get away?"

Roxas didn't answer.

"Well?"

"I have an idea," he said abruptly. "Can we play a game?"

Namine was somewhat confused by his changing the subject, but she decided to play along.

"Okay," she said. "What are you thinking of?"

"How about we play a guessing game—we ask each other a question about our lives and the answerer has to guess why or when or how or whatever."

"Basically, twenty questions."

He winced. "Pretty much, but I'd hoped I could be a bit more creative."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay…Who goes first?"

As it was, Roxas happened to have a spare quarter in his pocket. He chose heads and Namine chose tails.

"Tails," Roxas announced, squinting at the silver disk illuminated by the wan moonlight. "You go first."

Namine thought for a moment. "Okay, I draw a lot. Why?"

A sad smile curved his handsome face before disappearing so quickly she thought it merely a trick of the light. "I'm guessing that you draw to escape from your worries."

She smirked.

"Did I get it right?" he asked.

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p'. She sighed. "I draw to vent my imagination."

"Oh. So it's an outlet."

"Yep. Your turn."

"I came to ADBS in the eighth grade. Guess why?"

"Ummm…because…You were smart enough to compete with high school students?"

It was a perfectly logical answer, and indeed, she'd seen it happen often enough, but her gut told her that she was fundamentally wrong.

The sad smile materialized again in all of its depressing glory. "Wrong."

"So why were you sent here in the eighth grade?" Namine asked, toying with a strand of her hair.

"I'd rather not say," he responded in a cheerful voice that also happened to be totally incongruous with his eyes' heartrendingly _broken _look.

His eyes…They were a darker shade than her twin ice-blues—she struggled to recall the name for that color.

Was it cobalt? Or was it lapis?

Either way she was falling into their bottomless depths. She could see her wide-eyed reflection in his irises leaning ever closer…

"Hey."

The one word snapped Namine out of her spell. She noticed that her nose was not two inches from his.

Apparently, he noticed it too, because his face was somewhat red, as was hers.

Somewhat? Her face felt like someone had shoved a cattle brand into it!

Both of them looked away. Namine hugged herself in embarrassment—had she really been about to…ummm…

Her realization that he might have been leaning in as well only made Namine blush harder.

"You're blushing, aren't you?" an amused voice said.

She rolled onto her stomach; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing that.

Roxas sighed. "Wait…" he said, a malicious smile slowly spreading across his face.

Namine didn't like the tone of that 'Wait'.

"What?" she asked.

He snickered. "I bet that you can't last the next five minutes with me _without_ blushing."

"Yes I can!" she declared indignantly. "And I can prove it!"

"Yeah, right," he snorted. He smirked again. "And if you can't, then…"

"Then what?"

"You have to go out with me this Saturday."

Namine's eyes widened and a gentle chuckle from him indicated that she had already lost.

* * *

Yippee, the first Namixas fluff of Jump! (other than Roxas stalking Namine, but that was just for comic relief)

Too bad this chapter didn't go the way I wanted it to. *sigh* Can't have everything, I guess.

FAQ!

Will there be a SoraXNamineXRoxas triangle?

Perhaps there will be a love triangle (or two, ;) ), but Sora is no match for Roxas in my mind. It'll have to be someone who's a charmer…Riku, maybe?


	6. Lunch Brawl

Thanks for all your support, guys! Favorites and reviews show me you're all rooting!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Xion's eyes bugged out to the limits of human eyelid muscles.

"He said WHAT?" she demanded incredulously. "And you did WHAT?"

Namine began banging her forehead against the support strut of the bunk bed.

"I know, I know, I know…" she moaned. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…I never should've agreed to that bet!"

Her friend's already wide cobalt eyes got even wider. "No, no, no, no, no—Namine, haven't you realized yet?"

The blonde was getting a bit annoyed that she couldn't get any straight answers.

"Realize what?" she growled.

"That he likes you!" Xion yelled.

Namine frowned. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Hello! Axel said it in the elevator!"

"But was he being truthful?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "He'd never pass up a chance to embarrass Roxas!" she protested. "And Roxas punching him to shut him up is just more proof!"

"I recall that Axel was elbowed, not punched."

"Semantics; whatever. But back to the main point…"

It was Namine's turn to roll her eyes as the brunette sitting in front of her avidly advocated giving Roxas a chance.

"I've never once seen him do anything that shows he likes me more than just as a friend," Namine said, brushing a flaxen strand of hair behind her ear.

Xion sighed, frustrated by her blonde friend's thick skull when it came to boys. "Do I have to list the ways?" she grumbled.

The artist nodded.

"Okay. One, he blushes around you. FREAKING BADASS ROXAS BLUSHES. Two, he acts all immature and cute around you. He's usually cool, and aloof, and…and…" Xion struggled to come up with a suitable third adjective.

"A jerk?" Namine offered with a slight smile.

"Occasionally," Xion snorted. "But anyways, third, he actively tries to get your attention."

"How? By poking me?"

"Yes! That's somewhat normal for insecure guys like him."

"He's insecure?" Namine had a hard time believing that, but then she remembered.

_A sad smile curved his handsome face…_

"Of course he is!" the brunette stated. She sighed again, this time in pity. "He tries so hard to hide it, and he mostly succeeds, but me and Axel are his closest friends. We can see right through him."

Xion poked the air as if it was cloth and her hand was a sewing needle.

Namine had never been good at concealing her emotions. Her face was a patchwork quilt of surprise and pity, along with, strangely, understanding.

"So you see now?" Xion murmured. She leaned into the backboard. "You're pretty much the only person he's ever opened up to besides us."

"But why would he do that for me?" Namine wondered, cupping her cheek with a hand.

Xion shrugged. "I don't know. You're just special, I guess."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

The brunette laughed. "Obviously," she smiled. She patted Namine's shoulder. "But this isn't bad at all—you may just have won the heart of a very cute boy." She winked suggestively. "Maybe something more, too, if you catch my drift…"

"XION!" Namine wailed in embarrassment.

Xxx XXX xxX

The next day, Namine decided to eat a lunch. She normally wasn't hungry at this hour, but today she felt unusually peckish.

Her mouth watered as she stared at the images on the menus taped to the walls. What she had been missing yesterday…

The line was startlingly fast and efficient, and in less than five minutes Namine found herself in front of the lunch lady.

"Ummm, a cheese pizza, please," she decided.

The lady nodded, disappeared, and came back with a paper plate practically dripping with melted, gooey cheese. The bread and tomato sauce were barely visible beneath the yellow stuff.

The thing smelled amazing, and Namine could barely restrain herself from devouring the slice and the chunk of paper it was resting on.

"Namine!" a familiar girl's voice called.

The blonde turned around to see Xion waving at her from a table.

Along with Larxene, Axel, and Zexion, a man with a black ponytail and an eyepatch was sitting with Xion.

"Hello," the man grinned. "The name's Xigbar. So you're Namine—it's nice to meet you."

She nodded shyly. "It's nice to meet you too, Xigbar."

Axel patted the empty space next to him. "Sit down," the redhead invited.

Namine set her plate down (uneasily noting the hungry stares everybody was giving it), smoothed out her uniform's skirt, and sat in the proffered seat.

"You know, Roxas was blathering about you during last night's run," Xigbar noted.

She very nearly choked on her pizza, before the dreaded burning sensation returned to her face and neck.

Xigbar chuckled at Namine's mortification. "So he was saying, "Namine's so beautiful, she's so nice, I wanna bang her so bad—" The delivery was in a ridiculously high-pitched voice.

The one-eyed man had to wait a moment for Xion, Axel, and Larxene to stop cackling before continuing.

"And then he makes this weird—"

"I hate to interrupt your lovely rendition of Roxas's voice," Zexion said dryly, without even looking up from his book. "But he's right behind you."

Xigbar gulped. "H-Hey, man," he said nervously. "Don't kill me, okay?"

The blond parkourist loomed over Xigbar with one of the scariest death glares in history. If looks could kill, the poor guy and his genetic ancestors wouldn't have existed anymore.

Roxas continued to glower at Xigbar as he circled over to where Namine was sitting. Then his face fell.

"That's my seat," he complained.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I'll go sit at—" Namine stopped babbling as his hands grabbed her waist and lifted her up.

The spiky-haired blond slid into his seat underneath the diminutive artist before dropping her down onto his lap.

"Better," Roxas grinned.

Namine would have been attempting to break out if she wasn't too busy miserably failing at trying to halt the steady reddening of her cheeks.

"Is that the—quote—'cute'—unquote—blushing you were referring to last night?" Zexion said mildly.

"Yep. And she's nice enough to show it off every five seconds," Roxas smirked.

The blonde glared at her captor. "I do not blush every five seconds!" she protested.

"Oh, really?" he said softly, leaning in.

It was a losing proposition to NOT blush and it was useless to try and get some distance.

So Namine did the unexpected—she leaned in as well.

She was, however, expecting Roxas to lean back.

He was too shocked to.

"Took you long enough," Axel commented. "And here I was starting to think I might be wrong."

"You usually are, Axel," Xion remarked without taking her eyes off of the two blondes.

Why in all the seven hells and six heavens Namine hadn't yet jerked her head back and slapped Roxas silly was something she'd never know, but it was still supremely satisfying for either side to see that the other was wide-eyed and blushing.

"Eww," she choked, futilely attempting to wipe off her mouth. "Just…yuck. I can't believe you didn't back off."

He snorted in derision. "Neither did—"

"HEY, YOU!"

Everybody at the table whirled around at the shout.

Seifer stormed towards them with a tall, tan-skinned boy and a pretty, auburn-haired girl wearing a pink jacket.

The beanie-wearing man looked extremely angry. "What're you doing here, hoods?" he yelled.

Axel got out of his seat. "Fuck off, Seifer! We have every right to be here!" he retorted.

Seifer sneered. "Oh really?" he growled. "Rebels like you? You're just lucky I haven't had your asses kicked yet!"

" 'Had'?" the redhead cackled. "You really are a wimp, beanie! Why don't you try it yourself, coward?"

Seifer laughed back. "Because I don't have to," he said.

Right on cue eight muscular students stepped out of the growing audience surrounding the parkourists' table. Larxene, Axel, Xion, Zexion, and Xigbar got up, fists clenched, to face the challenge.

Roxas shifted Namine off of him and stood. "Go, run," he whispered.

She furiously shook her head. "No! I can't just leave you!" she hissed back.

In response Roxas picked her up, set her on her feet, and shoved her towards the crowd. It automatically opened to admit her.

Someone set a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," a voice whispered. "They'll be fine."

Namine turned to see an expressionless brunette boy looking down at her. He looked familiar somehow, but she couldn't place her finger on how...

"How do you know?" she whispered.

"This was written. Now be silent."

The artist obeyed and watched with wide eyes as her outnumbered friends engaged Seifer's minions. Her heart raced and skipped as blows were narrowly dodged and others connected.

Axel staggered as a fist smashed into his jaw, but he backhanded his opponent _hard_, sending the other flying.

Zexion was grabbed in a headlock but flipped his captor over his head in reprisal.

Larxene tackled her adversary, knocking him over, before straddling and raining fists down upon him.

Xigbar used clipped but powerful punches to batter down his opponent's guard, before the one-eyed man slammed both fists into the poor guy's face.

Xion crouched to avoid a hook, before sweeping her leg out and knocking her enemy off of his feet; a rabbit punch to the forehead served to knock him out.

But Roxas was by far the most amazing out of all his colleagues. He was fighting three at once, attacking and evading at the same time.

The blond blocked a blow on his forearm and grabbed that enemy's wrist before twisting around behind him. The caught arm instantly snapped, eliciting a scream of agony from its owner.

Another foe waded in, fists swinging, but Roxas stepped back to avoid the assault and retaliated with a pair of hits to the boy's sternum.

As his second opponent fell, wheezing, the blond easily sidestepped a roundhouse kick from the third. As the other boy struggled to recover from the heavy attack's recoil, Roxas used a roundhouse kick of his own to disable the last fighter.

The parkourists stood victorious. One by one they turned towards Seifer and his companions.

"I believe you said something about having all our asses kicked?" Roxas sneered.

Seifer defiantly glared at the blond. "This isn't over," he hissed dangerously.

"It is now," Larxene growled, crossing her arms. "And if you don't run right now, so will be your life."

He hesitated for a moment, his survival instincts warring with his pride. The former won out.

"C'mon, Rai, Kairi!" he ordered. "Let's go!"

The boy, presumably Rai, and the girl, Kairi, turned to follow Seifer's fleeing form, but a figure burst out from the crowd.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted in clear surprise. "What're you doing with them?"

The redheaded girl stared back at Xion's brother with an expression of contempt, but Namine thought she could also see a shadow of pain in Kairi's eyes.

"Screw you, Sora," she snarled. With that she ran after her two companions.

The brown-haired boy's jaw dropped. "What...?"

"That arrogant BITCH—"

"Cool it," Zexion warned. He and Axel moved to restrain Xion.

"Lemme at her!" the infuriated girl yelled, struggling to break away. "I'm gonna fucking KILL HER ASS!"

"You can't do that," Axel said. "Now CALM DOWN."

As Namine observed the mindless raging of her best friend, she realized the hand on her shoulder was gone.

The blonde whirled around to find that the mysterious boy had disappeared. She immediately took the opportunity to run over and assist Axel and Zexion in holding Xion down.

The words echoed in her mind as she struggled to pin down Xion's flailing arms.

_This was written._

**Xxx XXX xxX**

A male parkourist is a 'traceur', a female parkourist is a 'traceuse'. I refuse to use those fancy-ass French words-'parkourist' sounds good enough.

As for Roxas being insecure, the reason for that will be revealed in due time.

Review, my lovelies! Speak your mind on TIOS's latest chapter!


	7. Hell's Fridays

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"So, are you still up for that date?" Roxas asked. "Or are you too scared to now?"

His voice was concerned and understanding with that last, not sarcastic and mocking like she'd been expecting.

Wait, she hadn't known him for four days and already she knew he normally acted snarky?

Namine shook her head. "A deal's a deal," she said firmly. "I'm going."

His eyes widened in all of their lapis glory. "Re-really?" he said, shocked. "B-but after—what if—I mean, well—"

"Why are you so nervous?" she replied. "Of course I'll—"

"XION, NO!" Axel yelped.

The cunning brunette had relaxed for a moment, causing Zexion and Axel to lower their guard and let go of her for a heartbeat…

And she'd promptly darted away like a rabbit, presumably to hunt down Kairi.

"Damn!" Zexion cursed as he raced after Xion. "Come on, Axel!"

Namine stared at the three for one more second before shaking her head.

"What happened here?" a croaky but gruff voice barked.

She and Roxas turned to see a bald, bearded man dressed in a business suit walking towards them.

Larxene rushed over to him. "Headmaster Xehanort," she began in a smooth voice. "A few of my friends were attacked and they were forced to defend themselves. I apologize for what they did to their assailants."

Namine had to admire Larxene for the older girl's snakelike way of saying, "We aren't to blame, they are," despite the fact that everybody who had fought was supposed to be punished. The Headmaster almost seemed swayed to her side.

He shook his head. "Five of you against eight of them?" he grunted. "Not bad."

Larxene bowed. "Thank you, Father," she replied respectfully.

Okay, maybe the smooth talk wasn't all that had biased Xehanort.

The artist approached the elder blonde as the Headmaster stalked away. "You're his daughter?" Namine asked incredulously.

"Yep," Larxene yawned, flipping her hair.

"But—"

"I know; no family resemblance, right?" the female parkourist grinned. "I actually got my boo-ti-ful looks from my mom."

Namine giggled as Larxene posed in a comedic fashion.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Friday, Friday, Friday. What a lovely word—it meant Saturday and the beginning of the weekend was not long in coming.

So thought Namine as she heard a distant whisper.

"Wake up."

She raised her head and glanced at the alarm clock integrated into the wall the bunk leaned against.

"Daddy, s'barely five," she mumbled. With that her head fell back onto the fluffy fluffiness of the pillow.

"I SAID, WAKE UP!"

Namine shrieked and jerked up, flailing in the tangled sheets. She knew that voice all too well.

"ON YOUR FEET, MIYAMOTO!" Mr. Wallace thundered.

The frightened girl immediately obeyed. Xion fell off her bunk but jumped to her feet.

"DRESS AND GET OUT!" the Shop teacher boomed, pointing at an identical pair of neatly folded shorts-and-shirt uniforms lying on the carpet.

Both of them waited until after he'd gone before changing as fast as was humanly possible.

The two girls stepped out of their room to find the hallway swarming with fellow female students just as confused as they.

"What's going on?" Namine asked.

"No idea," Xion replied.

"What? I thought you'd been here for a while!"

"I have, but this is something I haven't seen before."

Mr. Wallace whistled loudly. The piercing noise very nearly popped Namine's eardrums.

"THIS WAY!" he bellowed, pointing at the emergency stairwell. "MARCH!"

The students jostled and shoved to reach the stairs first.

"FORM A LINE!"

After a few fruitless minutes of attempting to do that, the fifty girls in the hallway barely managed to form something remotely like a column.

"This is insane!" Namine hissed while clomping down the steps.

"What was your first clue?" Xion hissed back.

The sixth floor girls filed into the ground floor lobby. Namine stared longingly at the chrome finish of the elevator doors. Maybe Mr. Wallace wouldn't notice if she—

"Don't even think about it, Miyamoto."

Damn.

Xxx XXX xxX

Fifty students lined up into five precise rows with ten people to each. The last time Namine had done this was in freshman PE two years ago, but she somehow managed to coordinate with her fellows in the present anyways.

Mr. Wallace took his place at the front of the block of girls. He clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth.

"Now, you're all probably wondering what's going on and why I've dragged you out onto the front lawn almost three hours before classes begin," the gigantic man began.

"No kidding," someone muttered from behind Namine.

"Well, to elucidate you squirming maggots," Mr. Wallace growled. "Headmaster Xehanort was notified that our students, and especially the girls, and especially the sixth floor girls, were severely lacking in physical fitness."

"Not our fault the school's too cheap to have regular PE," Xion grumbled.

"THEREFORE, the Headmaster has decided to forcibly get you fifty into shape," Mr. Wallace grinned devilishly. "And he hath chosen yours truly to whip, beat, and/or otherwise torture you into that condition. We will be doing this every Friday."

"I presume 'we' excludes you?" Namine said sarcastically.

"Now, today we're working on your endurance," said the new physical education instructor. "Fall in!"

Mr. Wallace turned on his heel and started for the west side of the school. Most of the girls began moaning and groaning.

"Why are they complaining?" Namine asked.

Xion smirked. "I'll just tell you this. By the time we get where we're going, you will be too."

"But it's just walking…"

Namine mentally took back her words when she saw exactly where her former soldier of a Shop teacher had led them.

"Are you kidding me?" she yelped.

The outdoor football stadium was a spectacular sight, over a thousand feet long and five hundred wide. It formed a gigantic loop—green turf on the inside, a reddish-brown running track forming the perimeter, and the concrete bleachers for hundreds—no, _thousands_, more like—surrounding it.

Mr. Wallace whistled again to get the attention of the dismayed girls.

"OTT, BTL!" he shouted.

Nobody moved.

"For those of you who don't know…ON THE TRACK AND BEHIND THE LINE!"

Grumbles sounded behind Namine, but she and Xion skipped down the steps without complaint.

What was the point in that, anyways? They obviously weren't going to get any sympathy from Mr. Wallace.

There were six painted divides on the track; Namine and Xion took their place on the second. The black starting line was right on the edge of where the curve began.

"FOUR LAPS! BEGIN ON MY MARK!"

Namine tensed.

"THREE!"

Her stomach clenched. Butterflies materialized inside it.

"TWO!"

Sweat beaded on her forehead and prickled on her back.

"ONE!"

She crouched down.

"ZERO!"

Forty-nine girls shot forth like a volley of musket fire. Only Namine straggled behind, her legs refusing to reach the pace her brain ordered them to.

"Move, dammit, move," she hissed as she attempted to catch up with the rapidly shrinking image of the other students. "Severely lacking in physical fitness, my ass…"

Her throat was raw and burning and her muscles were already inflamed by lactic acid.

"Have to…run…!" she grunted.

Namine was beginning to wish she'd spent all those hours after school exercising instead of drawing.

"Need help?"

The familiarly gentle voice made her turn around in shock.

"Roxas?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her a slight smile. "Helping you," he answered.

The artist very nearly fainted right then and there when he scooped her up in his arms.

"Put me down!" she hissed.

"Make me," he smirked.

Then they were in motion so fast it took Namine a second to realize Roxas was running.

"What are you doing?" she asked, horrified. "What if they see?"

"Who?"

"The other girls!"

"So?"

"I'll be—I'll be…ummm…"

He chuckled and ran even faster. Namine bounced up and down in his arms in time to his steps, her long blonde hair flowing in the slipstream.

The first girl they passed glared jealously at the blonde artist, but the latter was too busy marveling at how warm and comfortable being in Roxas's arms was.

But the second girl just had to be Xion. The brunette parkourist took one look at the two blondes and gave Namine an evil, evil grin.

"Lovebirds," Xion crooned, before accelerating away from her now blushing friend.

The artist looked up to see that, Roxas, too, was blushing like mad.

"We'll kill her later," both said in unison. Then they blushed again.

Xxx XXX xxX

"Testing."

"No, I still can't hear you."

Namine waited for a moment.

"Now?"

"Kinda, but it sounds like you're standing a hundred feet away."

Mr. Wallace had outdone his previous bellowing of abuse when he saw Namine being carried by Roxas. Of course, the spiky-head had had it worse, his arms occupied with Namine's weight and unable to shield his ears.

The artist sighed. "How am I supposed to go on a date with you when you can't even hear me?" she demanded, shifting back.

"I know!" Roxas whined. "It sucks even more when you know what I've got planned…"

"What are we going to do?" Namine asked, curious.

"Not telling," he said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Tell me, or else," she threatened.

He sneered. "Or else what?"

Namine pounced on Roxas. Laughter resounded within the room as her fingers danced across his sides.

"God, stop—STOP—uncle!" he alternately yelped and laughed, squirming to escape from the tickling.

"Excuse me," Xion said dryly. "I hate to ruin your flirting, but I'm trying to do my homework…"

Both felt their cheeks burning. "We were not flirting!"

"Riiiiiight…"

Why had she let Roxas into her and Xion's room anyways?

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Another random scene meant as filler. Sigh…

No, you can't see the date yet. I'm gonna tease you with it.


	8. Confrontation

21 reviews! Thankies, loyal readers!

Sorry about the irregular updates; I thought I uploaded Chapter 8 but when I checked my e-mail it turns out I never got the confirmation of my updating. So...I hope you're not too mad...

I love writing these shopping chapters for no other reason than to poke fun at the characters.

By the way, if you want to type Naminé's name with that little thing over the 'e', type Ctrl+apostrophe and then type in 'e'.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

Xxx XXX xxX

"Naminé, wake up!"

Neither the shout nor the subsequent shaking stirred the blonde. The earphone connected to an Ipod turned up to ELEVEN, on the other hand, did.

"_CAUSE EVERY SECOND I—_"

"GAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

She ripped the earphone away and glared at the giggling Xion.

"What?" the diminutive artist demanded. "It's Saturday!"

The brunette grinned brightly. "I know!" she declared. "Sooo…"

"I don't like that tone…"

"We're going shopping!" Xion cheered.

"Why?" Naminé shouted a bit more loudly than she'd intended.

Her friend simply pulled her out of the comfortably warm sheets. "Your date, silly!" Xion grinned. "Now get dressed, chop-chop!"

Naminé growled something incoherent before dragging herself to her duffel, shivering in the cool morning air all the way.

"No, no, no—go to the bathroom, I already have an outfit for you!"

Lying on the counter was a pile of clothing. Naminé mindlessly changed into them and examined herself in the mirror with the automation of routine.

She was wearing a spaghetti-strap white top with a blue flower design on the left shoulder and a light green miniskirt—

Wait.

"I can't wear this!" Naminé shrieked, rushing out of the bathroom.

Xion quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"This—this—this _skirt_!" the blonde said in disgust. "It's so…short."

Her friend rolled her eyes. "And your point is?"

"I look like a—"

"You already used that excuse."

"But why?" Naminé whined.

"Because you want to impress," the brunette explained. She sighed in resignation. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm wearing the same outfit."

Xion flapped her arms up and down, slapping her hands on her thighs. Her version of Naminé's outfit was almost exactly the same save the shirt being green instead of the skirt.

"But you're comfortable in that miniskirt. I'm not," Naminé growled, crossing her arms.

The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Xxx XXX xxX

"The school has a garage?" the artist gasped, bewildered. She would have expected the students to not need one. The weekend was the weekend, no more and no less, but still…

"That was rhetorical, right?" Xion replied, leading her blonde friend to a sleek gray sedan.

"You have a car?" Yet another surprise.

"I got my provisional license last August."

Naminé slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt just as Xion backed out of lot 126.

"So why don't you have a car?" the brunette asked.

The artist slumped down and mumbled something.

"I couldn't hear what you said," Xion said.

"I failed the test," she muttered.

Her friend's sudden guffaw startled Naminé.

"Little Miss Trig Genius FAILED the driver's test?" Xion cackled. "Pull the other one!"

"Xion!" Naminé whined, burying her face in her hands. "I didn't study, okay…?"

"Sure…that's what they all say." The cheerful tone only enhanced the teasing intent.

After twenty minutes of driving, the car reached a massive intersection. In the forward right corner, relative to Naminé and Xion, a mammoth building towered over an equally gigantic square like a Himalayan mountain atop the world-famous plateau.

The mall was of an ultramodern design—stainless steel frames bordered the opaque glass panels making up the walls. Concrete and polished stone made up the lowest ten feet of the building.

The interior was even more impressive. Multiple levels were connected by escalator and catwalks; the sunlight illuminated everything inside via a massive glass pane in the middle of the ceiling.

Thousands of people bustled to and fro in the shopping center. The chatter of hundreds droned in the air, louder than any background music.

Given that this was only Naminé's second time inside a mall in nearly ten years, her awe was understandable. Xion wasn't quite as speechless.

"Come on, girl!" she exclaimed. "We have to move or all the good stuff will be taken!"

"I seriously doubt that," the blonde muttered under her breath as she and her roommate raced towards an escalator.

First they went to an American Eagle outlet. There were dozens of people jammed inside the store—maybe Xion had been right.

"Try this on first!" The words and a yellow sundress were tossed at Naminé literally the second she stepped through the metal detectors. God was Xion fast.

The blonde was unceremoniously shoved into a dressing room. She let her eye twitch out her annoyance for a moment before she slipped into the dress.

"The color doesn't suit you," Xion commented. "Next!"

"Why are you allowed to judge?"

"One, I've a better fashion sense than you. Two, I'm bi, so I'm a better choice as a judge for this than anyone else."

Naminé rolled her eyes and went back inside with another outfit.

Baby blue jeans and a short-sleeved cotton shirt—

"Too modest. Next!"

A purple, sleeveless, knee-length dress with a choker neck—

"Too tacky. Next!"

A gunmetal gray T-shirt and a knee-length pleated skirt—

"Too dull. Next!"

After some thirty minutes, Naminé stepped out of the cubicle for what seemed like the thousandth time. She hoped Outfit #36 would satisfy, because frankly, she was getting irritated with the constant rejections.

This time Xion gave a low whistle. "Perfect," she observed. "Not too tight and not too loose, and with suitable colors to boot…we have a winner!"

"But this is my original outfit!"

"I know."

"Then what was the point of coming here in the first place?" Naminé spluttered.

Xion smirked. "No reason." With that she dashed away.

The angered blonde caught up to her friend outside a shoe store. The inside was all polished ebony shelves and glass display cases; the entire place was designer, not just its wares.

"This place looks a bit expensive…" Naminé muttered. "I don't think I have enough munny—"

"I'm paying," Xion cut in.

The blonde looked at her brunette friend, shocked. "You don't have to—"

"I will," the night-headed girl said flatly. "And don't try to argue, it's just a friend helping out a friend."

Naminé stared in surprise at Xion before following her to the first shelf.

The shoes came on and off a lot more quickly than clothing, and so their stint in the shoe store was over much faster than in at American Eagle. Eventually they settled for a pair of white leather sandals.

As they headed for their last stop, the Macy's, Naminé noticed a loud, persistent rumbling. She glanced at Xion.

"That was me," the other girl said, embarrassed. "Can we get lunch now?"

"Sure," the blonde smiled. "I'm kind of hungry myself."

Like everywhere else in the mall, the food court was packed. Naminé was forced to hold down a table to prevent it from being taken while Xion was away ordering food.

After five minutes of waiting, she got bored and pulled her cellphone out of her bag.

There was a single message:

_Meet me on the roof at six. R._

Out of reflex, Naminé checked the time. It was three thirty—she had plenty of time left.

"Food!" a cheerful voice stated.

She looked up to see Xion, sporting a huge grin, holding a red tray with two plastic plates.

As the two girls ravenously tore into their fried noodles and chicken, Naminé remembered something Axel had said.

"Xion, Axel told me you were already a parkourist before you joined the XIII," she said.

The brunette tensed. "What about it?" she asked tersely.

"I was…just wondering if it was true…" Naminé mumbled. "Sorry…"

Xion sighed. "Don't be," she said. "Yes, it's true."

"Why didn't you tell Sora?"

"Because…"

"Because what—"

Without warning Xion began crying, large drops of saltwater sliding from the corners of her sapphire eyes.

"Xion, are you alright?" Naminé asked in alarm.

The girl sniffled and wiped off her eyes. "Yeah," she choked. "I-I haven't told S-Sora t-the truth because I d-didn't tell him the first time a-and I was scared he'd get mad at me and h-hate me…"

Tears began sliding down her face again, but Naminé wiped them away with her own hand.

"Sora could never hate you, Xion," the artist said gently. She smiled. "He's your brother."

Xion smiled back sadly. "I guess you're—" She suddenly stiffened.

The blonde followed where her friend's eyes were glaring. At the far end of the food court was the familiar auburn hair.

"It's _her_," Xion snarled. She got up and stalked towards Kairi and a group of the redhead's friends.

Naminé cursed under her breath and got up to follow the fuming brunette. She got there just in time to see Xion stamp her foot to get Kairi's attention.

Her rant immediately cut to the chase. "Do you know what you're doing to Sora?" Xion spat.

The redhead took one look at the other girl and rolled her eyes in contempt. "Forget Sora, you need a new sense of fashion," Kairi said dryly.

Xion turned red with rage. "How DARE you talk about Sora like that, you FUCKING WHORE—"

A slender hand set itself on the brunette's shoulder. "Xion, calm down," Naminé said firmly.

"You should listen to your girlfriend, faggot," Kairi sneered. "And next time, don't pick out her clothes for her."

Naminé ignored the insult but just barely managed to contain her enraged friend.

"One, I'm not her girlfriend," the blonde said coolly. "Two, you should shut up—like all bigots should."

Kairi's lip curled as she looked at Naminé. "You're one to talk, new girl," the redhead snorted. "All you are is just a dumb blonde without the looks."

Xion was much too strong and much too fast and much too unpredictable for Naminé to restrain, but even so the artist tried her best.

That best proved inadequate.

"Xion, NO!"

"SHUT UP!" the brunette roared, raising her hand.

The distinctive noise of palm with a considerable amount of power behind it connecting with cheek instantly silenced all conversation within the gigantic space.

_WHAP._

"AH!"

The only sounds then were Xion's heavy breathing, Naminé's horrified gasp…and Kairi's sobbing.

And then, like a tsunami exacting its terrible toll on a shoreline, the noise came flooding back.

"It's okay, Kairi," one of the redhead's friends assured. "It'll be okay…"

"What a bitch," another girl muttered, glaring at Xion to leave no doubt as to whom she was referring to.

"She-she-she hit me," Kairi stuttered. "She—"

At that point Naminé used both hands to grab Xion's arm and drag the brunette away from the gathering crowd. Several shouts of abuse followed them.

"Xion, WHAT the HELL?" the infuriated artist demanded. "WHY did you that?"

The brunette shrugged off her roommate's hands. "If you knew what she did to Sora, how she twisted him around her finger and broke him like a fucking toothpick, you'd have cheered me on," she muttered darkly.

Xxx XXX xxX

Yes, I know Kairi's a bitch right now, but I swear the why will be cleared up ASAP.


	9. Knocks You Down

I do believe I've left you guys hanging. So, without further ado, the date!

From now on, TIOS will be updated every three days, if possible. However, this story has to reach thirty reviews before I upload Ch. 10. I'm sorry if it doesn't seem fair, but I'd just like some feedback, if that's not too much.

But just in case the reviews are long in coming, here's an ultra long chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY OR ANY OF THE SONGS PLAYED.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé gave up trying to start a conversation with Xion after the fifth failure. Instead they just drove back to ADBS in silence.

The blonde wondered exactly what Kairi had done to Sora—had she broken his heart or something? And why had Xion lied to her brother about her parkour activities?

"Head hurts," she grumbled under her breath.

They had left immediately after the incident in the food court, just barely avoiding security. And now they might have to deal with whatever Kairi might tell the Headmaster.

The car pulled into its designated lot and the two girls stepped out, heading for the elevator.

"Hey, about my slapping Kairi…"

The sound of Xion's voice startled Naminé.

"Yeah? What about it?" the blonde asked tersely.

Xion sighed. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I—I wasn't thinking when I did that…"

"I'm more curious as to why you're so mad at her," Naminé said. "What did she do?"

The brunette became stony-faced. "I'll tell you another time," she snarled. Her entire demeanor changed in an instant to cheery and bright. "Not let's talk primping…"

"Hold it," Naminé interrupted. "Also, why exactly did you lie to Sora about your activities? I know you didn't want to lose his trust, but that doesn't sound like the full reason."

"There's really no way to escape your questions, huh?" Xion smiled. It widened into a shit-eating grin. "Well, okay, there's still one thing I can do…"

"Just tell me—HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

The wily brunette had bolted for the elevator. "Gotta catch me!" she cackled.

Naminé took a moment to fume before chasing after her accursed roommate. It took several minutes for the elevator to return.

Three minutes of impatiently tapping her foot against the metal floor of the elevator car later, the doors slid open and the blonde lunged out at empty air.

"A bit of anger problems, hmmm?" a dry voice spoke to her left.

The artist turned to glare at Xion, who was leaning against the wall of the hallway.

"Tell me."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because…" Namine hesitated, attempting to compress her reasons into words. "You're—you're my friend. I don't think you should have to bear it alone."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Then…

"Naminé, I've been bottling this up for two years," Xion said, obviously trying to keep her voice level. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it for two more."

"But—" Naminé's voice died as her friend walked away.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Xion clammed up again in their room, immediately climbing up to her bunk and staying there.

"_IT'S NOT OVER…TRY TO DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME AROUND…"_

Naminé could hear the incredibly loud music from the bathroom, where she was applying a layer of lip gloss. With a frustrated sigh, the blonde stalked into the room, climbed up the ladder, and pulled the earphones away.

"Xion, at least try to help yourself," Naminé scolded.

"How?" Xion asked, glaring at her friend.

The blonde sat back on her calves. "Don't run away," she implored. "You have to face it. Tell Sora."

The brunette didn't respond.

Naminé sighed. "At least do it for a friend," she begged.

Xion didn't respond for a moment, closing her ears. Then the tears began to stream down.

"Don't cry…" Naminé gently wiped the saltwater off of her friend's face. "It'll be okay…"

The other girl grinned weakly at her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine after a good cry." She sat up. "Now you might want to get down before somebody comes in and gets the wrong idea."

The artist grinned back and hugged her friend. The real Xion—the fun-loving, crazy one—was back.

"Okay, I'll tell him," Xion murmured when Naminé pulled away. "It'll be hard, but I have to try my best and hope he doesn't take it too badly…"

Naminé glared daggers at the wall. "He better not," she snarled. "Or I'll kick his butt and stuff the wounds with salt!"

Both girls began to giggle uncontrollably at the mental image before devolving into full-on guffaws. Laughter resounded off the walls, and boy did it sound good in comparison to the silence of less than a minute before.

The brunette was the first to recover. "Okay," she sighed. "Let's get started on your primping…"

An hour later they were finished.

"I look incredible!" Naminé gasped. "Oh, thank you thank you _thank you_!"

Xion chuckled as the artist grabbed her in a bear hug. "I just enhanced you," she smiled. She patted her friend's blonde head. "Just your regular beauty would have blown Roxas away even before this. Hell, it already did."

Naminé's cheeks grew red-hot and Xion began to laugh even harder. "I bet you could get him to do anything just by blushing at him!"

The brunette stopped laughing and smiled in a motherly manner. "It's nearly six. Blow him away, girl!" she cheered.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

He was waiting for her. Leaning against the railing, face expressionless but tranquil nonetheless, the wind gently ruffling his blond spikes, Roxas was the epitome of dashing.

"You look perfect," he whispered. "I think that about sums you up every day, really." He rose up to give her a quick peck.

Naminé stood on her toes and returned the kiss, letting her lips linger on his soft cheek. "You too," she smiled. She meant it, too. He was wearing dark jeans and a button-up, plaid shirt that defined his wiry but muscular frame quite well.

He smiled back. "C'mon," he declared. He headed for the elevator. "Let's get to the garage."

She frowned. "But I came up that way already!" she protested, childishly stamping her feet. "You could've just met me in the garage, then…"

Roxas turned back to her with a mischievous smirk. "Oh?" he said softly. "Then I take it you'd prefer to go down this way?"

She yelped as he scooped her up in his arms and trotted to the edge of the rooftop. Her fingernails dug divots into his skin as she held on for dear life.

"Nononononononononono—" Naminé's voice grew high-pitched with fear and she squeezed her eyes shut.

She could hear him laughing as she was set back on her feet. The blonde opened her eyes and gave Roxas a long, long, _long_ glare.

His car was parked in lot 168. The long, curvy Mercedes-Benz E-Class was painted black and had a glossy finish; the three-pronged circle logo was mounted on the front bumper. Naminé resisted the urge to stroke the silky skin of the beautiful car, instead heading over to the passenger's seat.

"Like it?" he smiled. He popped open the driver's door.

The girl nodded before sliding into the leather seat. "Comfy," she murmured, gently patting the grey upholstery.

Roxas, on the other hand, carelessly crashed into his seat. Naminé winced when she saw that the leather supporting him was scuffed. Why was he being so reckless with this vehicle? Last she checked it cost close to fifty grand.

Luckily his driving wasn't as haphazard as his treatment of the Benz. Roxas kept to one lane until he had to switch, never once went over the speed limit, and always stopped at the appropriate signs. Naminé wasn't sure if even her father was as responsible a driver.

_Is it because he's taking no chances with you?_

Naminé could distinctly see the end of her nose turn a faint pink at the implications of _that_. It's just a date, she reassured herself, or he's always this careful.

But somehow she doubted this was normal for him, and that just made her blush worse.

The E-Class pulled up to a park. Roxas got out and opened the back door, grabbing something on the back seat. Naminé followed him to a small grove of oak trees.

"What's that?" she asked when she saw the small bag.

He grinned and began pulling out Tupperware boxes whose contents smelled so good she had to wipe away a small trickle of saliva from the corner of her mouth.

"Xiang cang." Pinkish-red sausages sat in a bed of cabbage.

"Zhong zhi." Angular blocks of sticky rice, which looked like those frozen ice cream bars she'd had in elementary school, were wrapped in tea leaves tied with string.

"Shizhi tou." Several giant meatballs—pork or beef, she couldn't tell—were surrounded with an assortment of diced veggies and mushrooms.

Naminé's first bite had her taste buds screaming for more. And more. And more.

"Where'd you learn to cook?" she inquired, her voice muffled and distorted with all the food crammed into her mouth.

He flinched—a motion so slight she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been looking into his eyes. "My mom taught me," he mumbled, staring down into his plate.

She winced; Naminé could sense when she struck too close to a nerve just as well as her shrink father. The matter Roxas's mother seemed to be especially sensitive to the blond traceur.

"Well, whoever she was, her cooking skills are incredible," she commented. She smiled in an attempt to cheer him up. "Was she a chef?"

A slight smile that didn't quite reach his lapis irises curved his lips. "For a time."

"Where?"

He tensed. "A…restaurant."

It was apparent she wasn't getting anything more than that from him. "Was that where she met your father?"

"Yes…"

"You didn't have to answer that, you know." Her eyebrows crinkled in concern.

"Why not?" he frowned.

"I can tell it's a touchy subject."

"It is." He sighed at some sad memory. "You don't have to know."

"Why?" Naminé asked.

Roxas's expression morphed into something resembling a genuine smile. "Because…you're too pretty to understand such deep stuff."

"Hey!"

He laughed as she whacked his head.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé couldn't quite discern what was in front of her. Was it because of the low-light conditions?

Or was it because she was attempting to deny reality?

"I can't sing!" she hissed.

Roxas smirked. "C'mon, you wimp," he teased. "You don't know until you try!"

Their next stop for their date—she no longer blushed like an idiot when she thought that word—was a music bar of some sort. And there was the problem—she wasn't too sure how good her singing was.

The artist simply hoped she wouldn't have to find out.

"Roxas!" a familiar voice coming from beneath the familiar mullet shouted. Demyx raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girl on his colleague's arm. "And…Naminé?"

"Yes, we're on a date," Roxas growled. "No need to embarrass us about it."

Demyx grinned. "Wasn't going to, man," he chuckled. He motioned them towards a two-person table. "C'mon in—there's plenty of room on stage!"

"You work here?" Naminé said, puzzled. She'd been under the impression that almost all of the XIII were high-school or college students.

"Yep," he replied cheerfully. "Don't need the big bucks, so I didn't go for them."

She'd planned on majoring in architecture or art and making a career out of either; Naminé couldn't even begin to imagine how having a dead-end job could still make a person content.

"Wow…" she murmured as she and Roxas headed for the indicated seats.

Demyx headed for a door marked 'Employees Only'. "Be right back," he whispered, pointing at the stage, before disappearing through the door.

Seconds later, five people—two girls and three guys, Demyx included—stepped through a hidden entrance on stage. Cheers and whistles of approval serenaded them all the way to their designated positions. Naminé noticed for the first time that the place was packed.

"They must be good," she muttered.

"Very," Roxas replied with a smile of anticipation.

And they were. The blondes listened, mesmerized, as the five singers on stage rocked out to a song Naminé recognized as Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." The female lead's voice mimicked Amy Lee's soft crooning near-perfectly.

…

"_Wake me up!"_

"_Wake me up inside!"_

"_Wake me up!"_

"_Wake me up inside!"_

"_Call my name and save me from the dark…"_

"_Bring…me…to…_life_…"_

…

When the song was finished the combined applause and cheering managed to disable Naminé's hearing for a few seconds.

"Alright people," Demyx boomed into the microphone. "We got our buddy Roxas Takahashi here today, and he's back to sing your eardrums out!"

More cheering exploded as Roxas stood up. He walked towards the stage, and with a squeak of horror, Naminé realized she was along for the ride.

"I can't sing!" she protested again.

He ignored her and climbed onto the stage, dragging her with him.

"Oh, we've got a guest too," Demyx grinned. "Give it up for Naminé Miyamoto!"

There was a bit of cheering and applause, but most of the audience was staring at her in curiosity instead. Naminé had never suffered stage fright, but now…

The other two guys in Demyx's band disappeared into the hidden entrance and came back out lugging podiums like the ones politicians used when they made speeches. The podiums had lyric papers set on top so Naminé and Roxas could read what they were supposed to sing.

She was quiet and wavering at first, but slowly Naminé's voice grew stronger as the seconds passed and the tune grew more lively.

"_Heh, not again…This wasn't supposed to happen to me…" _Naminé sighed.

Roxas took over. His voice was amazing; small wonder why the audience had gone wild over him. _"Keep rockin', and keep knockin', whether you be Louis Vuitton it up or Reebokin'…You see the hate they're serving on a platter…"_

He paused for a moment. _"So what're we gonna have…desert or disaster?"_

She began again. _"I never thought I'd…be in love like this…" _She turned to look at him for a moment to see that he was looking at her. Both of them blushed and turned away.

(Naminé)

"_When I look at you my mind goes on a trip…Then you came in, and knocked me on my face…"_

"_Feels like I'm in a race, but I already won first place…"_

"_I never thought I'd fall for you as hard as I did (as hard as I did, yeah)…_

"_You got me thinkin' 'bout our life, our house and kid, yeah…"_

"_Every morning, I look at you and smile…'Cause boy you came around…"_

"_And you knocked me down…knocked me down…"_

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down, just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down, just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

(Roxas)

"_I never thought I'd hear myself say…ya'll go ahead, I think I'm gonna kick it with my girl today (kick it with my girl today)…"_

"_I used to commander-in-chief of my pimp ship flying high (flying high)…"_

"'_Til I met this pretty little missile…that shot me outta the sky (ooh, shot me outta the sky)…"_

"_Good to know I'm crashin', don't know how it happened, only that it feels so damn good…"_

"_Said if I could go back and….make it happen faster…Don't you I would, baby, if I could…"_

"_Miss Independent, oh to the fullest, the load never too much, she helpin' me pull it…"_

"_She shot the bullet that ended that life, oh I swear to you the pimp in me just died tonight…"_

"_Girl, love—"_

(Naminé)

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down…"_

"_Just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down…"_

"_Just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

(Roxas)

"_Tell me know can you make it past your Caspers, so we can finally fly off into NASA…"_

"_You was always the cheerleader of my dreams that seemed to only date the heads of football teams…"_

"_And I was the class clown that always kept you laughin', baby we were never meant to be, we just happened…"_

"_So please, don't mess up the trick, hey young world, I'm the new Slick Rick…"_

"_And they say I move too quick, but we can't let this moment pass us…"_

"_Let the hourglass pass right into ashes, let the wind blow the ash right before my glasses…"_

"_So I wrote this love letter right before my classes, 'How could a goddess ask someone that's only average for advice, OMG, you'd listen to that bitch?"_

"_Whoa, this is me, baby this is tragic, 'cause we had it, we was magic…"_

"_I was flyin', now I'm crashin', baby this is bad, real bad, Michael Jackson…"_

"_Now I'm mad, real mad, Joe Jackson…You should leave your boyfriend now…"_

(Naminé)

"_Say you gotta put the good with the bad, happy and the sad…"_

"_So will you bring a better future than I had in the past…"_

"_Oh, 'cause I don't wanna make the same mistakes I did…"_

"_I don't wanna fall back on my face again…"_

"_Whoa, whoa, I'll admit it, I was afraid to answer love's call…"_

"_Whoa, whoa, and if it hits better make it worth the fall (Baby, love comes around!)…"_

(Together)

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down…"_

"_Just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

"_Sometimes love comes around (love comes around)…and it knocks you down…"_

"_Just get back up when it knocks you down (knocks you down)…"_

"_Won't see it coming when it happens, hey…"_

"_But when it happens you're gonna feel it…"_

"_Let me tell you know, said when love comes and knocks you down (knocks you down, knocks you down)…"_

"_Won't see it when it happens, but when it happens, you're gonna feel it…"_

"_You'll see when love comes and knocks you down…"_

Naminé had occasionally looked at Roxas, wondering if the other meant his words, wondering if the other really felt the same way she was feeling towards him.

Then the song ended and she stood there, clutching the microphone, with sweat plastering her flaxen bangs to her noggin as well as any glue.

The audience stared at the duo, openmouthed and wide-eyed.

She grew nervous. What if they hadn't liked it?

Screams of glee boomed within the room, resounding off of and even shaking the walls. Demyx and his band joined the celebrations, hollering and pumping their fists in the air.

The artist glanced at Roxas to see him grinning at her. She flashed a grin in return.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I can safely say that that was the one of the best renditions of "Knocks you Down" I have ever heard!" Demyx shouted into his microphone. "Give it up again for Roxas and his girl Naminé!"

More cheering erupted from the frenzied audience. It grew ever louder when Roxas drew Naminé into his embrace and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

The kiss was her first—it wasn't anything like what she had read in chicklit. Oh, no, it was one _hell_ of a lot better.

And as a bonus, she didn't blush!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

They drove back to ADBS in a contented silence, not an awkward one. They could never be awkward with each other now, not after such a perfect date.

Naminé fell asleep along the way but woke up to find the massive walls of the boarding school looming over the Mercedes. She checked the clock to find that it was still only eight thirty; curfew was still an hour away.

"Thanks for an amazing time," she smiled. "Now I know I can sing."

"Better than Xion?" he joked. Both of them laughed.

An idea struck Naminé.

"Um, Roxas?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Could you teach me how to…ummm…parkour?"

There was deadly silence. When next Roxas spoke, his voice was low and serious.

"Are you sure?" he replied.

She was surprised by such an inane query. "Of course I am," she scowled. "I wouldn't be asking you to teach me if I wasn't, right?"

"True," he admitted. "But the road will be long and hard. You might fall down and you might want to give up."

She shook her head, her blonde locks flailing away at the leather behind her. "I might fall, but I'll never give up," she stated in a cool tone. "I never give up."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then."

Naminé was surprised by his sudden agreement. "What do you mean, 'okay then'? Shouldn't you be attempting to discourage me because it's supposedly too dangerous?"

"If you truly wanted to, you'd take the chance," he answered. He smirked. "And you've made it perfectly clear you're not joking about this. So, yes, I'll help you learn."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Whew! Seven pages long on Word 2007—almost twice as long as normal.

I also think my masculinity is in doubt now, considering that almost all of my stories are from female protagonists' points of view. The date also seemed a bit simple, to be honest... (and uncreative, I mean I've seen musical dates in other fanfics)

Review, please! And don't mind my low self-esteem!

Some belated and well-deserved credits to my reviewers:

**Komuro**: Thanks for all the reviews! And Namine's outfit at the party was a bit sexy; I am a guy, after all! XD!

**Runix56**: You pulled an all-nighter just to read my story? Thank you, thank you, thank you!

**puppylove98162**: I'm going to have to tease you more, but that's only to build the suspense.

**Kairi Granger**: All will be revealed about Kairi. In time...

**Wrath lover**: Now I'm kind of on the fence for a Namixas love triangle, but there'll be plenty more with other characters, trust me.

**xXanimefoolXx**: Don't hurt me. Please?

**Alphakoka**: Don't worry, because I write and update pretty fast compared to other authors on this site.

**Guest Reviewer**: Who's the brunette? One clue: "Tongue Twister", by Divine Wolfe.

**artista**: Sora's no competition for Roxas, but he is for Seifer. Heck, anybody's competition for Seifer.

**meandor711**: Lots and lots and lots of development are in coming; these chapters were only setup for that.

**midnight-heart**: Thanks! I try to be as creative as I can.


	10. More Than You Know

Just a tip, peoples. Don't bother threatening not to update until a review quota is reached, because you'll be the first to cave. The readers always win.

Or am I updating because I'm just a pushover?

I hate this chapter. Hate it.

And I'm gonna rewrite it, someday.

Someday...

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just the story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé was practically bouncing up and down with giddiness. Her first date, ever, no joke, was everything she'd ever dreamed of. The guy was even more than that.

He came up in everything she saw—the beige walls somehow morphed into the exact shade and texture of his blond hair (slightly darker than hers), the sky blue curtains over the hallway windows shifted colors to his lapis irises…

She wondered if she was going insane. Then again, it was a good kind of—

Wait a second, was that sobbing?

The artist realized it was coming from Room 126—her and Xion's room. Come to think of it, she was hearing a raised voice, too…

Oh, no.

Naminé burst through the door and took in what was happening in the room with a sweeping glance. Xion was cowering in one corner, her eyes teary and her face twisted with an expression of utter shame; Sora was standing over her, screaming oaths and abuse.

"Sora, stop!" Naminé shouted. In that one instant all of her happiness from minutes before came crashing down like a jet with its wings blown off.

The chocolate-haired boy whirled around to give her a seething glare. "What?" he snarled.

"She's in pain, Sora, just by telling you!" Naminé argued. "Can't you show at least some understanding?"

Sora was unmoved. "If only you knew," he spat. "If only you knew why I was screaming my head off, why I'm so upset at Xion."

"I don't know," Naminé replied flatly. "Tell me."

For a second indescribable sorrow flashed across his face, and then it returned to rage. "Almost everybody at this school was dumped here by their parents."

"And?"

"What do you mean, 'and'?" he yelled. Then a sneer of understanding curved his mouth. "Right, you've had a perfect life, with both parents, all the attention you needed, everything that you ever asked for emotionally. Me and Xion had nothing."

Naminé tried to imagine what it would be like to be neglected by her parents. A trill of grief and pain rushed through her, making her heart skip.

"So you can imagine it?" Sora growled. "Good." He began pacing. "In the old days—when we still TRUSTED each other, I might add—me and Xion did everything together. We comforted each other, we had ice cream together, we did whatever together."

He stopped pacing and pointed an accusing finger at his distraught sister. "At least, until she began disappearing at night. I thought it was legit reasons—late-night studying, partying—our parents didn't give a fuck." Sora literally spat the word 'parents', with a gob of saliva impacting the carpet not five inches from Naminé's left foot.

She understood now. The reason why Sora had overreacted, the reason why Xion was so miserable—it all boiled down to one reason.

Had Xion done it to escape her horrible life? Naminé didn't know exactly, but she did know that the brunette girl was depressed and hated herself for what she'd done to her brother.

"She abandoned me, Naminé! You don't know how the loneliness and the pain feel—what it feels like when you know the _one_ person who mutually gives a _damn_ about _leaves_ you!" If Sora hadn't been hysterical before, he was now.

"If you really do love her, then you wouldn't be yelling at her," Naminé stated. "You'd understand, Sora."

Betrayal flickered through his eyes. "I did—I do—love her," Sora said sadly, turning to the door. "More than you know."

When Sora's footsteps had faded away, Naminé stopped trying to glare a hole through the door and knelt down next to Xion.

The blonde knew better than to ask if she was okay.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Xion, you need to eat something."

"No."

"Then at least go to sleep!"

"No."

Naminé threw her hands up in frustration. "Look, Xion," she sighed. "I know Sora was being an asshole to you but that doesn't mean you get to stop living!"

Xion looked at her with eyes completely devoid of any humanity. "Do I look like I'm still alive?" the brunette moaned.

She didn't, really, but her blonde friend wasn't about to say that. "Yes!" Naminé declared. "C'mon, a shower might do you some good."

The broken girl was unresisting as Naminé dragged her into the bathroom. After fifteen minutes of fruitless waiting for the noise of rushing water, the artist lost her patience and stormed inside.

Xion was still standing where she'd been left. With an angry growl Naminé headed to her duffel to search for her swimsuit. Why she had brought it, she still didn't remember, but right now she was glad she had.

Because it was awkward enough to wash her friend while clad in a white-and-blue two-piece bikini.

"Raise your arms," Naminé ordered.

As expected, Xion didn't listen, so the blonde had to undress her friend herself before leading her into the shower.

It was a cramped fit, as needless to say, the shower was only designed for one occupant. Naminé set Xion down in the middle of the cage and circled the brunette with shampoo and soap in either hand like a Western gunslinger.

Apparently, not even the humiliation of being bathed by another person would faze Xion. The brunette girl looked a bit spacey even as Naminé viciously, and with full intent to cause pain, rubbed shampoo into her raven hair.

Fifteen tedious minutes later, a thoroughly annoyed Naminé pulled a thoroughly sanitized Xion out of the shower. The blonde thrust a terry towel at the brunette, waiting for her to take it.

She didn't.

At that point Naminé lost it. "Xion, WAKE UP!" she exploded. "I can't baby you day in, day out, you know! Just because Sora blew his top doesn't mean it's the end of the world, okay?"

Xion's cobalt irises finally seemed to show emotion. "I thought you said you'd support me through this," she mumbled, toweling off her face.

"So you're not brain-dead after all," Naminé replied sarcastically. She shook her head. "Yes I said I'd help you through this, and I will."

"How? All you've been doing is yelling at me."

"Because you were acting like a zombie."

"Don't I have a right to?"

"Don't I have a right to not have to essentially grope my best friend?"

Both of them began giggling uncontrollably at that for some reason; quite soon that giggling grew into lung-bursting, stomach-clenching, cheek-reddening laughter.

Xion smiled mischievously. "I'll bet you enjoyed that."

"Enjoyed what?" Naminé retorted with a reciprocating sly grin.

A shadow of pain crossed Xion's face just like with Sora's. The brunette turned away, water brimming at the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "But—but you just look way too much like Kairi."

Now that was random.

"What?"

"This might come out as a bit of a shocker." Xion's voice was its normal dry tone. "But I was once in a relationship with Kairi."

"Holy shit," Naminé breathed, sitting back. She didn't usually swear, but this time…

Kairi? With Xion? The image didn't really compute, mostly because of its utter spontaneity, at least to the flabbergasted artist.

"But she called you that…that _word_."

"She's straight, but she made an exception for me. I don't know why she hates me now," Xion admitted. A single teardrop gained enough mass to slide down her cheek.

"Did Sora ever like her too?"

"Like? Hell, he loved her. And I could've sworn the feeling was mutual."

"So are you two fighting over Kairi?"

"No. He won Kairi fair and square after I lost her; I'm not bitter about it. Besides, they make a cute couple."

"So why is she with Seifer?"

Xion winced. "Because…well, nobody really knows. All that _is_ known is that she broke up with Sora out of the blue," she elaborated.

"That's terrible," Naminé murmured. "No wonder you got so mad at her."

The brunette's oval face hardened. "She's turned into a manipulative, vindictive bitch who doesn't give a damn about anyone," she snarled.

The sudden change of Xion's stance on Kairi wasn't lost on Naminé. "I thought you might've still seen her as a friend after you two broke up," the blonde said.

"I did," Xion replied. "But now, she's not the Kairi Sora and I used to know anymore. The real Kairi wouldn't act like some snobby preppie, she wouldn't turn on her friends, and not for a hot second would she ever, EVER, _EVER_ treat Sora like he was nobody."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

As it was, Naminé and Xion didn't have to hunt down Sora; he came to them.

"Xion?" a voice from outside the door called. "I—I wanted to—"

"Sora!" Xion flung the door open and embraced her brother. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to—"

"YOU!"

The wrathful shout made the siblings pull away from each other to see who had called them out.

"How _dare_ you show your _pathetic_ face around here after what you said to Xion—" Naminé punctuated her mini-rant with a punch.

Sora staggered back, clutching his jaw. "What the hell, Naminé!" he yelped. "I just wanted to apologize!"

"You think an _apology_ will be enough?"

If Xion hadn't had the presence of mind to hold Naminé back, Sora would have been torn limb from limb by the enraged blonde.

"Naminé, calm down!" Xion shouted while attempting to evade her friend's flailing arms. "Don't kill him!"

"_Nobody_ talks like that to my friends!" Naminé hollered. She strained for Sora's throat. "Get back here so I can rip you apart!"

The chocolate-haired boy took three steps back, his hands out in the universal gesture for peace.

"I thought you were the quiet one," he said nervously.

"AAAAAAAGH!"

"What? That was a compliment!"

"DIIIIIIIIIIE—"

She froze in shock. What was she doing? She was Naminé, _Naminé_, not some psychotic girl!

"Sorry," she muttered, casting her eyes to her feet.

Xion wrapped her arms even tighter around the mollified blonde—understandable, considering that she had pulled the same trick on Axel and Zexion, and it would be humiliating if she fell for her own tactic.

Naminé did not resist; she let herself go limp in Xion's restraining embrace, and simply waited for both brunettes to accept that she wasn't going to try and kill Sora.

"No funny moves, okay?" Xion warned as she finally released her friend.

Said friend merely nodded. Sora took another three steps back to take cover behind a potted plant, just in case.

The artist rolled her eyes. "Come out, Sora," she sighed. "I promise I won't try to kill you."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" he retorted.

"We can wait out breakfast," she offered.

Sora immediately jumped out. "Never!" he declared.

"Now do you trust me?"

"Not really. But breakfast is more important."

The two girls laughed at that before strolling to the elevator. Sora hurried to join them.

"By the way, Sora—" Naminé began.

"Yeah?"

"You have to be Xion's personal slave for a week," she said.

"What?" he exploded. "WHY?"

"Because you made her cry."

"Okay, fine…wait a minute, who gave you the authority to do this anyways?"

Naminé smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "No one."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Why is ADBS not portrayed accurately?

Because a normal portrayal would interfere with the plot. Besides, ADBS isn't a boarding a school, it's more like an…academy with dormitories.

Yeah...

Do you think that Xion let Sora off too easily?


	11. Training Session 1

Okay, I give up. I'll use the French names—I have OCD tendencies in this regard.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé and Xion tucked into their bacon and eggs as they watched Axel and Zexion practice running up walls. The blonde had been told that the technique was named '_passe muraille_', or wall pass as a rough translation.

"Nice one, Zexion!" Xion cheered as the brunette traceur pulled off a perfect wall pass, vaulting up and catching the small ledge above him.

"Thank you," he murmured back, before stepping back to allow Axel a turn.

"Bet I can do that and get up to the second ledge," the other traceur grinned.

"You're on. What're the terms?"

"If you win, you get to ask Larxene out. If I win, I get to."

Zexion began spluttering something about how Larxene was not a thing to be bartered over; she was a beautiful human being and that Axel should go shove his words up—

"Hey, rebels!"

All four twisted around to see a brown-haired boy—the same one Axel had decked during the lunch brawl—leading two others towards them.

"What do you want?" Axel groaned. "We just wanna practice!"

The boy sneered. "We're just getting these two ladies away from you, that's all," he retorted.

"Why don't you go mind your own business?" Xion remarked. "Does it look like we need your help?"

The brown-haired boy flinched. "Ummm…"

"Sexist, much?" Naminé added helpfully. "Like the brainless knights in football jerseys you are?"

He flinched. "Just wanted to help," he muttered.

The four friends looked at the boy and his cohorts stalk away. When they were sure the three were out of earshot they burst into laughter.

"Amazing, Naminé," Axel smirked. "No swearing and they still got told!"

"I'm of the opinion that that boy is attracted to either you or Xion," Zexion said thoughtfully.

Xion raised an eyebrow. "Say again?" she frowned.

Zexion rolled his eyes. "In words your hormone-drugged minds would understand, one of those boys just now has a crush on one of you."

"If he can give me a date more perfect than Roxas did, then I'd up his chances to impossible," Naminé replied airily.

"Aw, c'mon—you only thought our date was perfect?"

The artist looked up from her food to see the scowling blond traceur walking towards them.

"Roxas!" she yelped. She jumped up and tackled him in a giant hug.

"Hello, stunning," he grinned, hugging her back. "How was your night?"

"It's a long story," she mumbled into his shirt. She released him. "You might wanna take a seat. Xion…?"

The brunette traceuse sighed in resignation and buried her face in her hands. "Well…"

When the story was finished, Roxas stood up in anger. "Oh that arrogant little—I swear I'm gonna—"

The artist next to him reached up and grabbed a handful of shirt cloth before dragging him back down. "Calm down, Roxas," Naminé murmured. "I almost had that chance this morning."

"So why didn't you take it?"

"Xion held me down."

Axel whistled in appreciation. "A catfight, huh? I'd have loved to see that."

"_AXEL_!"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé walked along the dirt path to the stadium. She was dressed in cargo pants and a spaghetti-strap top, as per Roxas's recommendations.

The man himself was waiting for her down on the track; he was leaning against the raised platform containing the bleachers.

"Roxas?"

"Hi, Naminé. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes." Her voice was small but it didn't waver—she would go through with this.

"Okay—first we need to start on your physical fitness."

She groaned in pain. "You killed it."

"What?" he grumbled. "Your muscles are pathetic."

Roxas staggered back, a bruise already forming on his cheek. "Okay, maybe I underestimated you a little," he hastily added. "So violent…"

"Well, fine, if I have to, I'll exercise," she sighed, theatrically waving her arms. "At least I know what scares you."

"Okay then—we'll be working on your arm and leg muscles first, then your core," he said.

"Running and weights?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of running and then push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, _whatever_, and then more running. But yeah, we will be doing weights later. It's a fantastic way to build up upper body strength."

Was she really going through with this? What was that old adage—easier said than done?

"Now, run one lap, as fast as you can!"

Motherfucker…

The blonde once again found herself unable to run faster than most turtles could trot, but pushed herself to and beyond her maximum speed anyways. She paid for it with the passive equivalent of getting the wind knocked out of her.

"Never—run—that—fast—before—" she wheezed, struggling to get up from her prone position. "G—GOD—!"

Roxas kneeled down next to her. "We're taking a break," he stated firmly.

With that she was hauled to her feet and dragged to the bleachers. It took five minutes of near-hyperventilation before Naminé could so much as breathe again without her lungs feeling as if they were imploding.

"So why did you want to do this?" he asked suddenly.

"Ummm…"

"Did Xion dare you to do this?"

There was no response.

"Oh, I'm gonna—"

Naminé slapped his hand down like a mother would an errant child. "I appreciate your concern but that doesn't mean you get to murder my roommate!" she scolded.

He pouted at her but sat back down.

"And no, she did not dare me into doing this! I'm here by my own choice!"

"So why did you want to learn how to do parkour?"

"I don't know, exactly…"

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me you're doing this on a whim?"

He sounded a tad offended, but Naminé couldn't blame him. "By 'I don't know' I mean I don't know how to translate my reasons into words," she explained.

"Oh. Does the reason have anything to do with me…?"

"You're so vain!"

"I'm not being vain, I'm being honest."

"How?"

"Admit it, you only wanted to learn so you could spend more time with me!"

"W-what?" Burning carmine flooded her cheeks.

"In fact, I think this counts as our second date!"

He earned a barrage of slaps for that one.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Twenty four and a half, twenty four and three quarters—"

"Just say twenty-five already!" she snapped. Her stomach felt like it had been beaten with a hammer—that was how sore her muscles were. It had been a good five hours since their little rendezvous had started, and she was starting to lose her patience.

"C'mon, I thought you said you wanted to learn how to run like us!"

"You don't have to be sadistic about it!"

"Good point. Twenty six, twenty seven…"

Next up was the push-ups. Naminé had thought that sit-ups were bad enough, but she changed her mind once the arm-bending began.

"Grrrr—" she grunted, trying to raise herself up on her arms. Sweat poured down her forehead. "Come on, come on—WHOA!"

She had fallen face first onto the turf, and boy did it hurt. Had she had her mouth open?

Yes.

"Ick," she growled, spitting grass out of her mouth. "I'm not a cow."

"How do you know that?" Roxas teased.

A glare instantly silenced him, but when she raised a finger to follow through, a sharp pain stabbed through her shoulder. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"My shoulder doesn't feel good…" Naminé would have said something more intelligent if his nose suddenly wasn't two centimeters from her neck. "And—and why are you so close…?"

There was that mischievous grin again. "Who said I had to get just _this_ close?"

"I don't like the—GAH!"

He was suddenly way too close and way too heavy for Naminé to retreat. She looked down and saw that he'd pinned her legs to the ground.

"Wh-what're you doing?"

Roxas sighed, his breath tickling the delicate skin of her throat. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm not that kind of person. I won't go that far until you want me to."

Before she could say anything else his lips began sucking on her collarbone, right next to her shoulder.

"Ohhhh…" Damn he was good.

And then he migrated up, up, up, along the curve of her neck, along her jaw, around her ear. Naminé hadn't quite realized just how sensitive her skin was until now…

She whimpered and arched her back as he gently scraped at her neck with his teeth. It should've been painful, and it might have been, but all she was feeling was a jolt of lightning and a wave of fire every time his mouth contacted her skin.

There was a very sensitive spot behind her ear. Funny how she'd poked and prodded it a dozen times and nothing happened, and yet Roxas did things to that patch of skin that caused a burning sensation to occur in the strangest of places—at least, according to her temporarily disabled mind.

_Oh god, oh god, how can he know things about my body that even I don't?_

At which point she realized she had a boy on top of her in a very suggestive position, she had just the naughtiest thoughts going through her head, and she had been moaning like some—

"Get off me!" Naminé yelped, and a second later Roxas found himself lying on cool grass instead of warm girlflesh.

"You know you liked it," he chuckled.

She merely curled up in a fetal position. "Pervert," she grumbled.

He scooted closer to her and tenderly hugged her with one arm. "Hey, at least you still have all of your clothes on."

"I still can't quite believe that I let you do this to me." Well, at least the embarrassment drowned out the pain.

"Because I'm an irresistible beast?"

"No, because every time I go near you my brain feels like it's drunk."

"_My _brain gets naughty images every time I think about you—OOF—!"

Naminé gritted her teeth and withdrew her elbow. She was a bit offended by that statement but at the same time that goddamned blush had to come along and make everybody misinterpret her real feelings.

"Seriously!" Roxas protested. "You're the only person I know who _still_ looks like a runway model in a parkour training outfit!"

Okay, _now_ the blush and her emotions were perfectly in sync. Her already strawberry cheeks darkened into a shade resembling maroon.

"How do you always do this to me?" she mumbled, picking at a blade of grass she judged to be about a foot away from her.

"Do what?"

"Make me feel so…so…so…I think _lightheaded _is the term I'm looking for."

He chuckled mischievously. "I thought you were lightheaded naturally," he replied. "I mean, with your hair color—"

"That joke's going straight to hell!" Naminé hissed, turning around so she could unleash her wrath upon the poor boy.

Roxas's alternating laughter and cries for mercy rang through the silent night sky as the girl in his arms mercilessly tickled him silly.

When she'd had her fun he wrapped her in a giant bear hug.

"But you make me feel kind of the same way, you know?" he whispered.

"Hmmm…?" She was already starting to doze off.

"Because right now, there's no other place in the whole world I'd rather be than right here with you."

His next words were so soft she thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her. "Thank you, Naminé. Thank you...for giving me a second chance."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I feel as if I've turned Naminé into a dumb blonde lately. I don't know exactly why I think that, but her dialogue, her actions; they all emphasize her character's simplicity, not her intelligence.

So it looks like I've got some character clean-up to do. Plus, I've been using too many cliches, in my opinion. :( I must fix that also.

That little button 'Review' about three centimeters below my story is calling to you…let it draw you in, yes, yes, click it…


	12. Dirty Teasing

Naminé's theme: "Earth", _Assassin's Creed II_ OST, Track #01

Jump is currently my most popular story, at 50+ reviews and 1,000+ hits.

For that, you guys, everyone who favorited and reviewed (or heck, just read this story), are awesome. AWESOME, got it memorized?

Axel: That's my line!

SB Original: Shut up, pyromaniac.

And I'll have you know I wrote this the day before the finals, just for you guys because you guys are awesome. I'll repeat: you guys are f***ing AWESOME.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The next morning, Mr. Wallace wasn't courteous enough to wake the girls individually.

He just used a foghorn.

"WAKE UP, MAGGOTS!" a familiar baritone voice thundered. "ROLE CALL!"

Naminé fell off her bunk, whimpering and clutching her shattered eardrums. She could hear Xion sobbing in pain above her, that's how loudly the brunette was suffering.

"Stupid son of a—" Xion snarled.

"DRESS AND FORM UP!"

"Motherfuck—"

"Let's hurry, Xion," Naminé hissed. "I don't want him throwing us out."

Both girls were clad in their PE clothing in ten seconds and the second after they were out in the congested corridor, attempting to line up amidst the chaos.

Out of the corner of her eye, Naminé could glimpse a girl being tossed out of her room in her pajamas. The blonde shuddered—she made a mental note never to push Mr. Wallace's patience.

Like she hadn't already, but hey you couldn't be too careful.

"That's Yuna!" Xion whispered. Her cobalt irises were wide with shock. "She's the one who invited us to that party, remember?"

"Yeah…"

Same shoulder-length brown hair, same warm smile, same…eyes? Naminé had never noticed Yuna's eyes were different colors—one was sea-blue and the other was emerald green.

The artist strode out of line, ignoring her friend's frantic protests, and bent down to help Yuna to her feet.

"Thank…you…" the heterochromatic girl whispered.

"Welcome," Naminé smiled. She walked into Yuna's dorm, retrieved the clothing on the floor, and returned the uniform to the wide-eyed heterochromatic.

"Why—why are you doing this?" Yuna asked.

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "I can't help a fellow student of mine in need?"

Suddenly the brown-haired girl looked around, noting the shocked looks of the other girls. "What?" she snapped. "You think I'm too proud to accept help from the new girl?"

The 'new girl' was taken aback by Yuna's sudden sharpness. She had seemed like a kind, harmless girl at first, but then again, Xion had, too.

Yuna sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Popularity's a stone cold bitch," she muttered. "Don't ever be sucked into it, you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Naminé replied in a small voice.

"Oh come on, you don't have to be scared of me," Yuna chuckled. "Unless, of course, my boyfriend Tidus falls for you."

Before Naminé could respond to that, the voice of DOOM bespoke its judgment on her.

"GET BACK IN LINE, MIYAMOTO!"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The running was a lot easier than it had been last Friday, and Naminé suspected last night's exercise was behind that. How one session could help her that much, she didn't know.

Speaking of which…

"How did I get back?" she asked Xion.

The brunette had decided to pace the blonde to keep her company, although both knew full well Xion was in tip-top shape and didn't really need the morning PE class.

"He carried you back," the traceuse grinned slyly.

Naminé flushed crimson. There were so many ways that that could be taken wrong…

"You sure you didn't do anything?"

"Xion!" Naminé wailed.

She snickered. "Sorry, couldn't resist. I mean, I did see a few marks on you…"

"Shut up!"

"And blushing after sex isn't uncommon…"

"We didn't have—"

"And neither is sleeping…"

"Stop…?"

"And Roxas looked really, really happy when he put you on your bed…"

"You're just as much of a pervert as he is," Naminé muttered.

"Oh? And how would you know he's a pervert?" Xion smirked.

"Just shut up…" the mortified blonde pleaded.

"Aw, c'mon, tell me," the brunette wheedled, bouncing in front of Naminé. "I wanna know, please, please, please…?"

"No. You're just gonna tease me about it."

"You know I'll annoy you for the rest of the day about this?"

"Good thing I don't share any classes with you then."

"And all through the night?"

"Who knows if I'll even stay in our dorm tonight?" Naminé abruptly froze as she realized the implications of what she'd just said.

"Ooohhh…" Xion whispered with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. You wanna know what Roxas looks like naked? Oh right, you already know!"

"Please…?"

"I'm pretty sure he's got nice pectorals, and toned abs, and he must be pretty big down under too, if you know what I mean…" The last was punctuated with a suggestive wink.

"God _dammit_, Xion." Naminé's tone was hissed and warned of great pain to come should the girl not shut her mouth at once.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," the traceuse laughed, holding her hands out in the universal gesture for surrender. "What else do you want to talk about?"

"What was Kairi like before she went over to the…umm…dark side?" the artist asked.

Pain again flashed across Xion's face and the brunette swallowed.

"Never mind. We can—"

"She was the kindest person you'd ever meet," Xion interrupted in a flat monotone. "She'd go out of her way to talk to freshmen and make them comfortable."

"And how does this make her 'the nicest person you'd ever meet'?" Naminé inquired.

Xion glared daggers at the blonde. "If you were there you would've thought the same of her."

With that, the traceuse ran off to leave Naminé alone with her thoughts.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Roxas came in as he usually did, through the window. Naminé was there to tug him inside.

"Good morning," she chirped.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're—what happened?" he asked suspiciously. "From what I've seen you're not too much of a morning person."

"What?" she shot back. "I can't say 'Good morning' to my own boyfriend?"

Several people began whispering at that apparently unexpected development. Both whipped around to glare at the class and the murmurs fell silent.

"Alright, settle down class," Ms. Lockhart barked. "Role call!"

"How was your night?" Roxas whispered. He leaned forward to toy with a flaxen lock of her hair.

"Great," Naminé replied. "How was yours?"

"Even better. Did Xion tease you about yesterday?"

"All through morning PE." The artist decided not to bring up how Xion had run off after extolling Kairi's former benevolence.

"Ouch. She did this so many times to Sora when he was still with Kairi."

Naminé shifted. "Um, Roxas? Speaking of Kairi…"

"Yeah?" he murmured.

"We talked for a bit about her and Xion said she was the—quote—kindest person you'd ever meet—unquote," she said. "Why did she change?"

He sighed, ruffling the tresses in his hand. "She was an even better person than 'kindest person you'd ever meet', and nobody knows why she changed."

"That's pretty much what Xion told me," Naminé muttered.

Roxas leaned back, releasing her hair. "And I presume she told you Kairi had turned into a total bitch?"

"Pretty much…"

"I don't get her actions, either," the blond traceur growled. "She and Sora were perfect together, Kairi said it herself, and then they're apart out of the blue."

"And I assume the very next day was when she got together with Seifer?" Naminé asked.

"The very next day was their first date. The day after that was when they became an item," Roxas explained. He shook his spiky head. "Kairi, with Seifer. And she used to call him the biggest douche in existence."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Naminé muttered. She rubbed her head. "The very thought of that bastard Seifer gives me a headache."

"Likewise," he said. "So, I on the way here I heard some people talking about how you helped out Yuna Braska."

"So that's her last name?" she murmured.

"So, for once, the gossip is true?"

"I'd never have thought you'd be the type to listen to gossip!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he whined, his eyes morphing into puppy caricatures.

"Okay, okay!" she giggled. "Yeah, it's true. Mr. Wallace threw her out of her dorm because she was apparently too slow to dress."

"And I assume you got her clothes for her?"

"Yep."

He smiled and ruffled her hair. "That's my girl," he whispered.

She smiled back. "Same time, same place?"

"Maybe an hour earlier—children need their sleep, after all."

"Hey!" she laughed, and playfully poked him.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Where's Roxas?" Naminé asked. "And Axel and Xion?"

Only Zexion and Larxene were at the lunch table today. The brunette traceur looked distinctly happy at this development, though.

"They're out at the clock tower," Larxene yawned. "God, it's so boring without Axel here…"

Zexion's face darkened considerably at that, but Naminé noticed it before he could say something stupid.

"I feel horrible about what I said to Xion this morning," she mumbled, plopping down on a chair.

"Don't be," Zexion muttered. "She told me to tell you she had no hard feelings."

She buried her face in her hands. "Still, my conscience is yelling at me," the artist grumbled. "Why is the subject of Kairi so touchy to everybody?"

Larxene leaned back, balancing herself with a single hand. "Kairi was the—"

"Nicest person you'd ever meet, I know, I know," Naminé interrupted, ignoring Zexion's annoyed glare. "And what nobody gets is why she did a personality one-eighty."

The other blonde twirled an antennae lock in one finger. "Best not to think about morbid stuff like this," she said grimly. "What's done is done—the real Kairi isn't coming back, not while she's with that asshole Seifer."

"I still don't think her being with Seifer is logical," Naminé argued. "Roxas told me she used to call him the 'biggest douche in existence'."

"Nobody understands why," Zexion replied. "And everyone still calls him that."

"In my opinion, she's been blackmailed," the petite girl declared, her ice blues suddenly lighting up with the electricity of sudden comprehension. "Maybe Seifer threatened to beat up Sora or something, and she left him to protect him!"

"Come to think of it, Xion did say Sora was assaulted by a group of thugs the day Kairi broke up with him…" Larxene recalled, drumming her fingers on the table.

Naminé noticed that Zexion almost seemed mesmerized by the traceuse's hand, his eyes rising and falling in time with her fingers.

"Zexion?"

"Hmm?" he murmured.

"Why are you staring at Larxene's hand?"

A scarlet haze bloomed across the bookish traceur's cheeks and he looked down at his own hands, clearly embarrassed. Larxene just stared at him.

"Back to Kairi," Naminé said a bit loudly. "Larxene, you said Sora was beaten up the day Kairi dumped him?"

"Yeah," the other blonde answered, still giving Zexion a confused look. "Well, he wasn't beaten up, per say—more like intimidated."

The artist frowned, tenting her fingers and leaning her small chin on the makeshift platform. "Maybe Seifer wanted to scare Kairi into getting with him…?"

Zexion sighed. "Perhaps," he admitted. "It fits with my own theory, but one thing prevents it from being validated."

"What?"

"Kairi broke up with Sora _before_ he was attacked."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I believe this is called 'rising action'. DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNNN!

Come on, everybody! Join the fanfic spirit and review, review, review!


	13. Borrowing a Boyfriend

I'm wondering if I've lost any readers. If so, then I'm sad. Not angry or anything; just sad. Where did I go wrong that someone would stop reading?

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

As the orange foliage fell from the grounds trees with the passage of autumn, and the weeks of September soared past, Naminé continued her training with Roxas.

She grew stronger, faster, and enduring. Her once smooth and flat skin was now sinuous with well-grown and well-toned muscle all over her body.

By the end of September she could run five miles, going to the limits of her endurance—she would never be as much of a long-distance person as Xion or Roxas, but considering that she'd let her muscles essentially atrophy before coming to ADBS, five miles was still darn good.

Roxas began to bring her to the weights room in Building C for some upper-body training during their nightly training sessions, where her limit went from five to ten to fifteen to twenty to thirty to forty pounds per hand. She would never be quite as strong as Roxas, but he had assured her that her body wasn't designed for brute strength and also that she didn't need to be that strong anyways.

Occasionally, she would piece together methods of performing parkour techniques from observing others' practicing. For example, she learned to always land on the balls or heels of her feet when jumping while watching Xion every morning, and she figured out how to wall-pass from the countless times she saw Zexion and Axel compete.

Naminé also learned a few new things about her newfound friends.

Axel was a senior at seventeen years of age, six feet four, and he was _still_ growing. Roxas had joked that he might someday be too tall to balance correctly, and had received a smack in the head for it. The redhead also loved fireworks and explosions (Naminé had been a bit disturbed to learn that, for some reason), and hoped to become a special-effects technician for his career.

Zexion was a junior, but was also seventeen. He was about two or three inches below Roxas's six feet and was built like a weasel—svelte and long-bodied. He had a genius-level IQ of 199, and wished to become a physicist.

Larxene was a senior like Axel and was six feet tall, just like Roxas (funny how he came up in all the comparisons). She had an hourglass figure that frequently made passing men walk into signs or trip over curbs, and wasn't afraid to use that effect to her advantage. Her love was networking—she wanted a career as an infrastructure engineer (Roxas had once mocked her for such a 'mundane' dream and had been scarred for life by the punishment). The blonde traceuse had confided in Naminé about how she suspected that both Axel and Zexion had feelings for her, but that she only saw Zexion as a younger brother. Naminé had kept her theories on the the boys secret, of course.

Anybody could see Naminé had had a metamorphosis from the petite, out-of-shape, skinny girl she had been at the start of school to a lithe, agile, and tough (but still rather short, much to her chagrin) specimen of the female gender. She was still rather willowy, but that apparently was also how her body was built. Even then, boys who hadn't given her a second look at the start of the school year, despite her supposed beauty, now started walking backwards to keep sight of her whenever they passed her. The constant stream of threats from the more possessive girlfriends of said boys didn't hurt her slowly increasing self-esteem either.

She was ready by the second week of October.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Naminé?" Roxas asked. He was leaning against a wall, watching his girlfriend practice the wall-pass method.

The blonde concentrated on landing before responding, crouching into a catlike pose before impact. "Yeah?" she replied, brushing dust off her cargo pants. She had bought parkour-appropriate clothes of her own at Xion's insistence.

"How much about the actual art of parkour do you know?"

"As in the techniques?"

"As in the history. The techniques you can easily figure out—we all know you're a very sharp girl." He grinned approvingly.

"Well, thank you," Naminé smiled. "But let's get to the point—what's the history?"

"Warning, warning," Axel said sarcastically. "Learning alert! Learning alert!"

Roxas glared at the redhead. "Shut it, jackass," he ordered. "Zexion?"

The brunette traceur waited for Axel to stop. He didn't.

"Never mind," Zexion said dryly, over the noise of the redhead's antics. He turned to Naminé. "Parkour was invented by blah-blah-blah, and I agree with Axel that this stuff is boring as hell. I don't even know why I learned it."

"Because you have OCD?" Larxene inquired.

"Says the one who always has to have two perfectly working six-inch switchblades with her at all times," Zexion shot back.

"What's wrong with being prepared?" Larxene sniffed, folding her arms and looking away.

"Shut up!" Roxas barked, cutting off Zexion's rejoinder. The blond traceur sighed in frustration. "Jeez, you're all older than I am but I _still_ feel like your guys' mom…"

"You don't have the hips for it," Naminé teased.

"Not you, too…"

A humorless, mocking laugh silenced them all. Naminé, Roxas, Zexion, Larxene, and Axel all turned around one by one to see who was there.

"Why am I not surprised, bitch?" Roxas snarled.

"_You_," Naminé hissed. Her fists clenched.

Kairi smirked. "Yes, me," she sang, skipping forward. "Me, me, me…"

"What are you doing here?" Axel demanded. His fists clenched, too. "Isn't it enough that you've spread all those rumors about us?"

"What, I can't hang out with my older brother?" the redhead girl sneered.

"Don't pretend that you're my sister," Axel retorted. "My _real_ sister died a long time ago."

"And she was resurrected a whole lot less naïve," Kairi declared. "Care to know why I'm here?"

"Do tell," Zexion muttered sarcastically.

"Her!" Kairi said, pointing at Naminé.

"And…?" the artist inquired, folding her arms.

The redhead bounced forward and flipped the blonde off.

"Bitch—!" Roxas was barely restrained by Axel and Zexion.

"Is that all you've got?" Naminé yawned, drumming her fingers on her forearm.

"Look who's talking, dumb blonde," Kairi replied.

"Dumb blonde?" Naminé smirked. "Cheating redhead, more like."

"You little—! How _DARE_ you—"

Roxas broke loose, his hands stretching for Kairi's throat, but Larxene slammed into him, tackling him to the ground and pinning him there.

"Keep frosty," the traceuse hissed. "Your girl's got it handled—let her deal with this!"

At which point Kairi's hand snapped into Naminé's cheek. Roxas bucked in an attempt to free himself, but then Axel piled on top of him too.

"Wanna call me that again?" the traitorous redhead said.

"I was wrong," Naminé sighed. She shook her head in pity. "That is all you have, isn't it?"

"Ugh!"

Larxene and Axel got up off of Roxas when Kairi had stormed away.

"I swear, man," Axel said. "My sister was never reborn at all. The real Kairi's in heaven right now and she's never coming back."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Why is my roommate spazzing out?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because I'd thought you know!"

"Well…I don't!"

"What a lame comeback."

"Whatever," Roxas muttered, rolling his eyes.

Naminé pushed the door open to see Xion pacing and Sora clutching at his hair.

"What are you guys—" she began, and then Xion looked up.

"Guys!" she yelped. "Fall Formal is coming up!"

Fall Formal? What that was specifically could be extrapolated from the name, but not much else...

"So…?" Roxas inquired, folding his arms.

"We need dates!"

"Wouldn't that be your concern?"

"Our parents are inspecting us!"

"WHAT?"

The artist whipped around to see that her normally cool and collected boyfriend was slack-jawed. "THEM?"

"Our parents want us to find a suitable boy or girl to take to Fall Formal," Sora explained. "And only juniors and seniors are allowed."

"We'll need to teach you two how to dance," Xion added.

"Then we need to go into town to buy outfits."

"Gowns and tuxedos, remember!"

"Xion will take you, Naminé, and I'll take Roxas with me to the tuxedo fitters."

"Fall Formal's on the thirty-first and this year's theme is masquerade."

"So be sure to also buy good masks."

"Scary is out of the question—Father and Mother would prefer class and subtlety over horror."

"By subtlety, we mean simple but eloquent masks."

"All our preparation is gonna take away our time, so—"

"No parkour the week before. Sorry."

"We'll also have to clean up beforehand."

"Not just a soap and water shower either—"

"We'll need makeup and perfume for the girls and cologne for the boys."

"Again, we have to impress our parents or they'll just send us to a new school."

"NOOOOOO! I don't want to leave my friends, not again…"

"You see? Do it for Xion, then."

The two blondes' heads flicked back and forth as the siblings rapidly gave instructions, warnings, and reassurance.

"Let me get this straight," Naminé said in disbelief. "You want to take us two as dates?"

"YES!" Xion and Sora chorused.

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "I dunno," he murmured, scratching his head. "I was intending on asking Naminé out…"

"We'll be borrowing you two!" Xion said quickly. "Sora with Naminé and you with me!"

"Are you sure?" Naminé asked.

Xion scowled. "I'm not interested in Roxas, Naminé," she huffed. "Not since that time the pervert snuck into my bathroom!"

The blond turned crimson. "I didn't realize you were there!" he shouted, waving his hands.

"So you didn't hear the shower?"

"No, I thought it was something else!"

"Like what?"

"Hey, guys, hey, break it up," Sora said firmly, interposing himself between the bickering parkourists.

"Yeah, keep it PG-13 or below," Naminé added. "TMI, you guys."

The brunette traceuse glared at her friend and brother but quieted anyways. "Also, Roxas, are you okay with Naminé going with Sora?"

He shrugged. "I'm good as long as she's okay with it," he answered.

"You might not want to tease Roxas about that," Naminé advised. "We—we met Kairi today…"

She noticed how Sora's eyes became more alert upon his hearing the name of the redhead.

"Kairi?" Xion snarled, her fists clenching. "Where is she? I'm going to—"

Sora placed a restraining hand on his sister's shoulder. "What did she say?" he asked tensely. "What did she do?"

"She came up to us, told us she wanted to talk to me, and flipped me off," Naminé recounted. "Oh yeah, and it turns out she's Axel's estranged sister."

"And what did you do?" Xion inquired, shaking with obvious anger.

"I told her off," Naminé grinned. "Called her a 'cheating redhead'."

"WHAT?"

The two parkourists and one artist flinched at Sora's shocked outburst.

"How could you, Naminé?" he cried. Then he began screaming in a high, shrill voice. "SHE IS _NOT_ A CHEATING _BITCH_! SHE WOULD _NEVER_ CHEAT, _NEVER_! NOT WITH SEIFER AND MOST _FUCKING_ CERTAINLY _NOT_ WITH _ME_!"

Roxas whistled. "Wow, Naminé…" he murmured, shaking his head.

"'More than you know'," Sora whispered, hanging his head.

Naminé winced at her massive error. "I'm guessing you were referring to Kairi?" she asked. When he nodded glumly, she winced again. "Even when you were mad at me and Xion, your memories of Kairi calmed you down, didn't they?"

The brunette nodded again, but this time tears filled his normally bright blue eyes. Sobs racked his body and he collapsed onto Naminé's bunk, burying his face into his hands.

"Sora, it'll be okay," Xion said softly, hugging her distraught brother.

"Don't worry," Roxas added with a comforting smile. "Maybe someday she'll see what a bitch she's been to you and beg for your forgiveness."

"And then we beat up Seifer for doing whatever to her," Naminé chimed in.

Sora grinned weakly. "Thanks, guys," he sniffled.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

My stories change moods too quickly, in my opinion, but that's my own problem and I'm not a good self-proofreader. And I wonder why I've lost reviewers.

And I hated this chapter because of A) the wall of text and B) it's filler. Again. Also, is there such a thing as Fall Formal? 'Cause I just made that up for the story.

Review! *does cartwheel but collapses halfway*


	14. Fangirl Mother

I feel like writing longer chapters. I feel so inadequate when I see other authors giving you guys 6,000 word chapters when that's already close to a fifth of my total word count for this story.

*sigh* I've a ways to go…

Naminé: Don't worry, SB, you'll get there…

Roxas: This is so random.

Naminé: Dude, this is the guy responsible for our existence in this AU! Show him some respect!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy! (wow, what a long-running disclaimer)

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Jennifer shrieked. "Oh my god!"

Naminé winced at her mother's fangirl simulation. She was quite sure her father must be contemplating seppuku, that's how bad the squealing was.

"Our daughter has a boyfriend!" the mother yelped.

"I'm aware of that, Jenny," Ryo sighed.

"Mom, please…?" Naminé begged. "Could you, I don't know, let me and Dad talk in peace?"

"I second that notion," Ryo deadpanned.

"Fine…" Jennifer sighed. "But before I shut up, tell me—what's his name?"

"Roxas," the girl answered.

"What an odd name," Ryo said. "Sounds a lot like Roxy."

"Dad!"

"Naminé, it's okay if you're not interested in guys."

"DAD! I'm STRAIGHT!"

"Okay, okay, okay—now where were we? Oh yes, the Fall Formal." His tone made it clear just what he thought of formal balls.

"All parents are invited," Naminé said, remembering what Xion had told her. "Do you want to come?"

"Sure. Do you have a date?"

"Yes…"

"Is it a girl…?"

"We've been over this." She was getting peeved by her father's teasing tone.

There was a knock at the door.

"Hold on, Dad," Naminé said quickly. She walked to the door and checked the peephole.

It was Roxas, with Sora in tow. "Can we come in?" the traceur called.

She unlatched and pulled open the door. "Roxas and my date are here."

"WHAT?" Ryo exploded. "I thought Roxas was your date!"

Roxas sighed. "Mr. Miyamoto, it's a long story."

"Who was that?"

"Roxas."

"Oh…"

"Listen, um, Dad I need—"

"Come on, Naminé…" Roxas said, tugging at her sleeve.

"Sorry Dad, gotta go!" Naminé said hurriedly. She stretched her hand out to replace the phone…

"Come ON!"

"GAAAHHH!" Naminé was jerked out the door as her phone fell onto the carpet. "Do you know how much that thing cost? And why did you drag me out here anyways?"

"We need to teach you two how to dance," Sora stated.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of…" Roxas grabbed Naminé's hand. "We need to get outta here!"

"Hey, get back here!" Sora shouted, but the brunette was no match for the traceur's agility.

Naminé was at first dragged along the floor, but she eventually got her feet under her and started running with her boyfriend.

_Boyfriend_. Such a simple word, and yet it could make her think of just the most obscene things…

She blushed and refocused on keeping pace with Roxas. "Where are we headed?" she asked.

"You'll see!" he replied cryptically.

"Dammit, just give me a straight answer!"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"So, after a few miles of running, you brought me…here?" Naminé wasn't sure where 'here' might be. After all, there wasn't a term for an abandoned factory slash parkour playground.

"Yep," Roxas said cheerfully. "We need to work on your technique, and there's plenty of environment around here to work with!"

As they passed a rusty steel wall, she noticed red and black marks scribbled on the corrugated metal. Another look revealed the markings to be some sort of complex drawing or design. Interesting…

"Come on!" Roxas urged again, before taking three steps back. Then he blurred forward, slamming a foot against the wall, then the other, and then his hands clamped over the top edge and he flipped himself over.

Naminé gulped—she hadn't yet practiced the pull-up part. "Well, here goes nothing," she muttered.

A one and a two and a one two three—

She charged for the wall, dug her toes into the metal, rammed her other foot into the wall a good meter above the first one, and gained just enough altitude and momentum to fling her hands above the wall—

She bit back the yelp of pain. Impact felt like her arms were being torn out of their sockets; she had a ways to go before her wall-passes would be as smooth as Roxas's. With a gasp she pulled herself up and fell over the wall, barely landing on her feet.

"Okay, so the first thing we do is—hey are you okay?" he said hurriedly, rushing over to her. He gently took a hold of her shoulder, eliciting a gasp of pain. "Oh, s-sorry!"

For some reason the pain melted away like winter frost under a ray of sunshine as he looked at her. "Well, it doesn't hurt anymore," she mumbled, blushing again and looking down. _Because of you_, she added silently.

He grinned weakly. "Well, that's good to hear."

They stood there in silence for a few awkward moments before he strode away to a ladder. "Come on!" he called over his shoulder.

"Can't you think of something more creative than 'Come on'?" she asked.

"Can you?"

"Ummmm…"

"Exactly. Now, copy what I do."

Then he jumped onto an unstable-looking beam and crawled across it on all fours. And it didn't even look like crawling—it was more like a spider-walk.

"That's called cat-balance," he explained from the far side. "Balance is doing the same thing on two limbs."

"I'm not doing that!" Naminé shrieked, shuddering. "What if I fall?"

Roxas sighed in frustration, palming his forehead. "Do you want to learn this or not?"

"Fine!" she huffed, stalking over to the beam and hunching over.

_Okay, Naminé, be cool. It should be simple—hands and feet on the beam, pull, slide, pull slide…_

And it did turn out to be that easy, if a lot slower than Roxas's daredevil variant.

"Very good," he grinned. "You're a natural at this."

"Really?"

"Mostly because it doesn't require any intellectual capacity at all."

"Hey!" she shouted, and smacked his arm. "Enough with the dumb blonde jokes already!"

He chuckled before dashing off and once again Naminé found herself chasing after him, giggling like an elementary schoolgirl the whole way.

She caught up to him at a railing. A look over the edge showed that the ground was a little over ten feet down.

"This would be a vault," Roxas declared, backing up. He darted towards the railing, put his left hand on it, and swung his legs over the side. A loud _thud_ signaled his landing.

"Roxas!" Naminé shouted in horror, rushing to the railing. "Oh my god, are you—"

"Now you try!" he hollered from below. "Don't worry, I'll catch you!"

She mumbled something incoherent to herself before taking three steps back. She always needed a considerable amount of distance before she could build up to her considerable top speed.

"Well, here goes nothing—again," she murmured, tensing her muscles.

Two lunging steps brought her within range of the metal bar and she shoved down at it, rotating her body like Roxas had so that her legs swept over the railing instead of into it.

But she hadn't been expecting the power of the technique. _Note to self: lay off the push next time_, she thought, annoyed.

A pair of strong arms caught her, as promised. Naminé instinctively curled up, drawing her knees and hands to her chest.

"I've held you before this," Roxas smiled. "And yet you're still blushing like the first time around? How cute…"

"Shut up and let me down," she growled playfully.

He grinned again, this time in a mischievous fashion, and brought his lips down to hers. And then jerked them away as a stinging slap connected with his cheek.

"OW!"

Naminé somehow managed to land on her feet. "Ha-ha," she smirked.

"What was that for?" he whined, although both knew full well that the slap hadn't hurt him in the least.

"Shut up," she said again, and hugged his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

When they disengaged he was slightly blue in the face. "I never knew you had a side like this," Roxas teased. "Naughty Naminé—I like that."

"Only because you have a perverted mind," she shot back in an equally mocking tone.

"Oh, what this woman thinks of mercy," he groaned, placing a hand over his heart.

She rolled her eyes at his cheesy theatrics before strolling to another wall. "What's next?" she inquired.

"Aw, come on," he protested. "My acting can't be that bad, can't it?"

"If I told you the truth, would your feelings be hurt?"

His lip wobbled and his eyes grew big and watery. "Why?" he choked. He fell to his knees. "Why, GOD? WHY?"

She just yawned. "Wow, it was horrible enough already, but you actually made it worse."

He looked at her. And looked. And looked. With wide, wide…

"Oh, no, not that again…" Naminé moaned, grimacing. "Puppy eyes?"

There were more faux waterworks, but the firepower of the puppy eyes completely scoured her of her defenses.

"No—must—not—lose—to—"

To her credit, Naminé lasted another five seconds before caving in. "Okay, okay!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in irritation. "Just—just stop the eyes!"

He didn't.

"Okay, okay, I give up," she grumbled. She stepped up to him and wrapped him in a hug.

A single heartbeat later she was on the concrete with Roxas on top of her.

"Would you mind?" she complained, struggling to sidle out from under him. A well-placed arm of his prevented that, though. "Letting me go, that is?"

"Well, what's in it for me?" he responded with a slight smile.

She had to smile herself. "Hmm, I don't know," she pondered. If her arm wasn't pinned beneath his waist her finger would be resting on her chin in a mockery of _The Thinker_. "I don't slap you silly?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of another kiss," he smirked.

"Addiction isn't healthy, Roxas," she replied.

He pouted. "Getting addicted to you is just too easy," he scowled. "Being apart from you for more than a few hours is like crashing after a few Red Bulls."

"You wimp," she chuckled, but she craned her neck to give him a quick peck on the lips. "There, happy?"

"More?" he begged.

She rolled her eyes again. "Fine," she sighed, but another smile tugged at her lips and she leaned up for the second time. This time he moved himself off of her.

"Well, what else are we practicing?" Naminé asked, brushing off the back of her jeans.

"Here, let me get that for you," Roxas grinned, caressing her behind.

"EW!" she yelped, jumping away from him. "EW, _EW_, EW, _EW_, NO! _NO_! BAD BOY! _BAD_ _BOY_!"

"What, can't take me touching your butt?" he chortled.

She glared daggers at him. "My back, I can take with a grin. My butt," she shouted, pointing at the area. "Is _off limits_, you hear me?"

He just laughed harder. "You sure about that? I mean, for a second there you looked like you enjoyed it…"

"Absolutely!" she declared.

He began chortling.

"I mean, I mean, I mean—" she stuttered. "Absolutely for _not _wanting you to grope me!"

"Sure…?" Roxas dragged out the single word.

"YES!"

"You suuuurrrrreeee…?"

"ARGH!"

"Come on, you know you liked it…"

"Oh, I dare you to say that again." Naminé's tone was deadly quiet.

Beat.

"So, um, let's—let's continue…"

"Good."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Jump will be broken down into four arcs. Arc finales will be around double the normal length, like in Chapter 9.

Arc 1: Meeting Him

Arc 2: Fall Formal

Arc 3: Freedom

Arc 4: All-Out War

Naminé's reaction to getting groped by Roxas might've been a bit over-the-top, but I saw it happen to a girl once (swear to God it wasn't me who did it) and the poor guy had a red palm mark on his cheek for the rest of the day. So yeah…

Review? *puppy eyes*

Naminé: It won't work, SB. You're not as cute as Roxas.

Roxas: It only works on you because you think I'm cute?

Naminé: No duh, numbskull. Are you hard of hearing or just plain stupid?

Roxas: *puppy eyes*

Naminé and SB: *slap hand over eyes* Goddammit, Roxas!


	15. Don't Forget That

Finally, a break from the filler. Sorry about the delay; it took me quite a few rewrites to get the last part satisfactory, but I still think there's something...missing from it.

I know that much of the stuff I write doesn't make any sense at first, but it will later on.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY! Surprise!

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"How do I look?" Xion asked, stepping out from behind the dressing room door.

Naminé studied her friend's outfit for a moment. The dress was strapless, mid-calf length, dark purple, and decorated with floral designs on the left side.

This time, the two girls hadn't gone to a normal clothes outlet; they had instead gone to (of all places) a wedding boutique to buy their Formal clothing.

And it was taking so very, very long. Naminé had received a text from Roxas five minutes ago stating that the guys were done getting measured for their tuxedoes, and were waiting outside the store the girls were in.

"What is this, the twentieth outfit?" Naminé sighed. "And they're all the same to me. I'm telling you, Xion, you looked perfect in every one."

The traceuse pouted. "Some judge you are," she muttered, stepping back inside the small cubicle.

"Well, why don't you bring in Roxas or Sora?" the blonde suggested, leaning back on the couch. "They would have a better sense of what looked good."

"But I want it to be a surprise!" Xion protested.

"Well, so would I, but that's only applicable to Roxas," Naminé replied. "Sora's not your date—he can see you before Formal, right?"

"Next!" Xion stated, walking back into view.

"Did you even listen to—wow."

This dress was a midnight black, ankle-length, halter top evening gown. It also happened to flow over the brunette's figure like water.

The other girl just stared at her. "This one is perfect," Naminé said slowly. "I think it's the best out of all the other ones, really."

"I think so, too," Xion replied, returning to her room. She emerged a minute later in her street clothes, with the evening gown carefully held out in front of her. "Your turn."

Oh, Roxas and Sora were going to be _so_ pissed when the girls were finally finished. Naminé could remember how long it took Xion to approve an outfit the last time.

The blonde headed over to a rack of white dresses, only to be pulled back by the arm.

"No white," Xion warned. "Color only, please."

Naminé pouted and looked at her friend with pleading eyes, but all she got was the cobalt steel of Xion's cold gaze.

"Fine," the flaxen-haired girl sighed, turning to a rack of blue dresses.

A few minutes later Naminé, clad in her first dress, surfaced from her dressing room. The outfit was light red, sleeveless, and ankle-length, with rather revealing slits down the front and along the left side of the skirt, up to the mid-thigh. She hugged her arms to her chest in an attempt to hide what cleavage was showing.

"I think this one's a bit too showy," Naminé muttered, flushing deep crimson at the thought of Roxas seeing her in such an outfit.

"Agreed," Xion remarked. "And what are you blushing about now?"

"Nothing!"

"Roxas?"

"Shut up!"

The second dress was much less informative about Naminé's body. It was a dark grey, also sleeveless, and came down to the blonde's knees.

"Well, this one's too simple…" Xion mused, her eyes flickering up and down the dress.

"I want simple," Naminé declared. "Something with a gazillion layers just isn't my type."

"No it isn't, but neither is something _too_ simple. Try the next one, if you please."

The third dress in the pile was also an evening gown. It came down to slightly below Naminé's knees; the hem of the skirt was multilayered to give the impression of ocean waves. The strap was a triangle connected to a small, ruffled ringlet of cloth wrapping around her slim neck, leaving the dress backless down to the waist, and another pair of straps wrapped around the girl's shoulders. All in all, it was a beautiful (and somewhat complex) example of an article of formal women's wear.

Unfortunately, the color was…

"White?" Xion yelped, leaping to her feet. "How did—"

"How should I know?" Naminé said. She turned around in a full circle. "But I like it."

"No, no, no," Xion groaned. "White does look good on you, but nobody will be wearing that color to the Formal."

"How do you know?" Naminé asked primly.

"White's representative of innocence, of purity," Xion sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Most don't think of high school students as that. People who don't know you might think you're stuck-up."

"Why would I care about what others think of me?" Naminé replied. She recalled Yuna's warning.

_Popularity's a stone cold bitch. Don't ever be sucked into it, you hear?_

"If you don't want others to make your life miserable, then you should," Xion said. "Plus, we're trying to impress me and Sora's parents, remember?"

Now that was a solid argument; Naminé wasn't going to dress up for only one person this time.

"Good point," the blonde admitted. "But don't you think your parents would appreciate a girl who didn't care about others' opinions of her?"

"Actually, they wouldn't," Xion answered with a small smile. "But the design of that dress is actually pretty good."

"Do you think it's in another color?" Naminé asked.

"Let me ask," Xion said, striding off.

Naminé changed back into her jeans and T-shirt just as Xion returned with a store worker.

"You wanted that dress in another color?" the refined-looking woman inquired.

"Yes, please," Naminé replied.

"We have it in blue, grey, black, and red," the worker said. "Which color do you like?"

The blonde considered it for a moment. According to both her mother and Xion, warm colors didn't go well with her skin, so red was out of the question. Black, too, had never been one of her better clothing shades, and she plain didn't like grey.

"Blue," Naminé said.

"Alright, one second…" The woman returned a minute later with an ice-blue version of the white dress. "Oh, and it matches your eyes, too. Perfect."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

They were supposed to pick up their dresses the day before Fall Formal. Therefore, the two girls exited the boutique minus what they had just bought AND a crapload of munny.

"There they are," Naminé whispered, pointing at Roxas and Sora, who were lounging on a bench. Sora had apparently dozed off.

"Naminé! Xion!" Roxas shouted, running over to the two girls. "What took you so long?"

She glared at Xion. "That one decided that she absolutely had to try the twenty plus outfits she chose!"

"I'm a girl!" Xion protested, backing away. "I need to know what looks best on me!"

Roxas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm assuming Naminé told you everything looks good on you?"

"I did," Naminé stated.

"That's just not possible!" Xion said, stamping her feet.

"Why are you trying to reject a compliment?" Sora asked, joining the trio. "Say thank you, idiot."

"Fine, thank you," Xion huffed. "But I still say you two are lying!"

"The cake is a lie!" Naminé murmured, wriggling her fingers.

"You played Portal?" Roxas asked.

"Not me, my older brother."

"Okay…who's your older brother?"

"His name is—"

Then Naminé's eyes narrowed to slits. "_Kairi_."

"Your brother's name is—?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. Then he realized whom his girlfriend was referring to. "Oh…crap…"

Xion, Roxas, and Sora whirled around to see the redhead, with a group of friends, strolling through the shopping plaza.

"Did she see us?" Xion hissed, pulling her friends behind a nearby tree.

Naminé peeked out from around the trunk. "No, they're actually walking away from us," she whispered. "But it looks like she came here to shop for the Formal."

"So she didn't come here to look for us?" Sora sounded disappointed, but in Naminé's eyes that was justified.

And then her attention was ripped away by a certain heterochromatic female at Kairi's left. "Is that _Yuna_?"

Roxas stepped out from behind Naminé, squinting slightly. "Yep," he confirmed. He pointed to another brown-haired girl in a yellow sundress, and then a silver-haired girl with red eyes. "That's Selphie and that's Fuu, respectively."

"Guys, why are we spying on them?" Sora asked, pulling both blondes back into cover.

"No idea," Naminé replied.

"Well, I'm going to talk to Kairi," he declared, and before any of them could stop him, Sora was striding towards his former girlfriend.

"This is purely gonna suck," Roxas groaned, clapping a hand over his eyes. "Sora's going to get _massacred_."

"We have to follow him!" Naminé said firmly, and then she started off after Sora, ignoring the two's frantic warnings. "Come on, you two! We can't just Sora go alone!"

"We're gonna regret this, aren't we?" Roxas muttered as he hurried to his girlfriend's side.

"Meeting _Kairi_?" Xion cracked her knuckles. "Hmm…"

"I'm having none of that, Xion," Naminé growled as they closed in. "Be on your best behavior, okay?"

"No guarantees about that. Kairi's got to be on _her_ best behavior, if you want her in one piece."

Kairi and Sora were already arguing when the three got close enough to hear them. Yuna, Selphie, and Fuu were just staring at the redhead and brunette, clearly surprised at Sora's sudden appearance.

"—could I at least talk to you?" Sora cried.

"We are!" Kairi retorted.

"Alone, I mean! Away from people you have to put up a façade for!"

Yuna nodded. "Come on girls," she said, waving to Selphie and Fuu. "Let's give these two some space…"

But Fuu stood her ground. "No," the girl said bluntly. "Protect Kairi."

"What on earth would she need protection from?" Selphie demanded. "She's Seifer's girlfriend, for heaven's sake!"

"Him," Fuu replied, pointing at Sora. "Them, too."

Naminé, Roxas, and Xion stared right back into Yuna and Selphie's shocked eyes until the two girls looked away.

"I'd say the only person Kairi needs protection from is you," Xion spat, glaring hatefully at Fuu. "Now go away before I lose control."

Fuu looked once at the traceuse's fiery eyes, then the fearful ones of Yuna and Selphie, and then the warning ones of Naminé and Roxas.

"Leave," she mumbled, walking away.

"You can talk now," Xion growled at Kairi.

"Like I need your permission," the redhead retorted, turning to follow her friends. "And like I'm willing to talk with that loser."

"Kairi, wait—!" Sora grabbed her arm. "No—don't go—!"

"Let go," Kairi said. But her tone wasn't angered and haughty like Naminé had expected, it was pleading…and fearful?

She couldn't possibly be afraid of Sora; he was one of the nicest guys Naminé had ever met.

"Please! Before—"

What the hell? Was she _crying_?

"Hey, porcupine! What're you doing with my girl?" Seifer, with three of his minions behind him, was storming towards the scene from across the square.

"He's here!" Kairi gasped. Her violet eyes were wide with terror. "Sora, run! Please! I—I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Like you even care," Xion muttered. "And I'm itching for a fight anyways."

"I'm not," Naminé interjected, grabbing the brunette's arm and dragging her away. "Roxas, Sora! Let's go!"

Sora's feet were apparently nailed to the ground he was standing on. "Kairi…" he whispered, apparently oblivious to the incoming Seifer.

"Come _on_, move it, you _moron_!" Roxas hissed, waving at the spiky-haired brunette. "Do you want to _die_?"

When Sora still didn't move the blond gave a huff of frustration and wrapped an arm around the other boy's midsection, pulling him away from Kairi.

The boy finally seemed to wake up. "Kairi!" he yelled, reaching out to the redhead. "I'll—I'll come back to you, I promise!"

Despite Naminé being at least twenty feet away from Kairi by that point, the blonde could somehow hear what the redhead said next.

"I know you will," Kairi murmured. "I love you, Sora. I hope you can still believe me…"

Naminé whipped around in shock at the unexpected statement. She couldn't lip-read, but anyone could've caught the redhead's final words.

"_Thank you, Naminé," _Kairi mouthed as Seifer's outraged yelling began. _"Thank you…for protecting Sora for me…"_

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I think Xion's excuse for not wanting Naminé to wear white was lamer than a three-legged ox, as was the ending.

It took me half an hour to design Naminé's final dress to something I found satisfactory; I hope it looks good to those clothing fanatics out there (no offense intended).

REVIEW. *eyes explode with intensity of glare*

Roxas: Epic fail, SB.

Sb Original: Shut up, spike-head.


	16. Sickening

I'm shooting for at least 80 reviews; that should be possible, based on the number of chapters planned. And you guys did give me almost 70 reviews already. :P Thankies!

Chapter 18 will have a reviewer's response, because you all deserve an honorable mention that doesn't require going to another page.

And yes, I will focus on Roxas/Namine after this arc. I'm a bit annoyed that I've neglected my favorite pairing like this.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

When they returned to ADBS, Naminé and Xion split up from Roxas and Sora to return to their room.

"That bitch always manages to rile me up when I get into a good mood," Xion muttered, rubbing her forehead. "And now I have a headache…"

"Xion, can I ask you something?" Naminé said, fiddling a bit with her shirt sleeve.

"You don't have to ask, but sure. Shoot," Xion said.

"When exactly did Kairi break up with Sora?" Naminé asked.

Xion's eyes darkened at the mention of that, and the traceuse leaned back in her chair. "September…"

"What day?"

"Saturday…"

Naminé winced. She now didn't really want to know which Saturday, exactly, but she had to make sure.

"What—what date…?"

"The fourth."

"So you're saying," Naminé choked. "That the day I got with Roxas…Kairi broke Sora's heart?"

"Pretty much," Xion replied weakly.

"Now I feel so guilty," Naminé groaned. Pain began pounding in her noggin.

"Don't be," Xion said, shaking her head. "Their issues don't get to interfere with your relationship with Roxas."

The blonde fell back onto her sheets, her waist-length blonde hair splaying all over the bed. "No wonder he was so pissed off at you when you…"

"Told him I abandoned him for parkour?" Xion finished. "Yep."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Naminé murmured. She was more disappointed than angry that Xion hadn't chosen to confide in her.

"I thought I could handle it myself," Xion admitted. "Axel and Roxas were pretty pissed off when they found out exactly why he'd overreacted. They asked me why I hadn't told them, too."

"I guess I can understand why," Naminé said. "You wanted to keep this between you and Sora, huh?"

Xion nodded. "That's how we've always settled our fights. Him and me, alone, with a sister to brother talk. Same goes for every time either of us got hurt—we'd always comfort each other."

"So that's why you forgave him so easily," Naminé continued. "You knew that you and only you really had the power to make Sora feel better at that point."

The brunette nodded again. "Smart girl," she smiled. "No wonder Roxas fell for you that fast."

Naminé closed her eyes and folded her arms behind her head, thinking of her favorite traceur's handsome, grinning features.

"It wasn't just her brains or her looks he fell for," Axel's voice called from outside their room. "Xion, Naminé, could I come in?"

The blonde and the brunette raced for the door, but Naminé turned out to be just a little faster than her friend. She unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey, Axel!" Xion grinned. "Do you need anything?"

The traceur scratched his crimson mane. "Actually, I came here to...well, how'd you like a visit to the common room?"

"Common room?"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Holy shit."

She just stared. And stared. And stared. Trying to _not _stare was about as difficult as seeing through walls. Xion put Naminé's thoughts into words.

"What the hell is this place?" the brunette snapped, looking up at the grinning Axel.

"The common room," the redhead said.

The two girls had been expecting the common room to be medium-sized and cozy, like something out of Hogwarts; they hadn't realized it was the entire 2,500-square foot twelfth floor of Building C.

The common room had an ultramodern feel. The two walls opposite the elevator were floor-to-ceiling glass panels that provided a godlike view of the campus; the lowerclassmen milling on the grass below resembled humanoid ants. A bank of computers was set in one corner, and a brace of concept tables was arranged along the opposite. A dozen couches and sofas were arranged in a multilayered ring that looked like a depiction of Atlantis Naminé had once seen in a documentary. The plush carpet was a silvery-blue color and looked very expensive.

"How come I've never heard of the common room?" Naminé asked.

"Only a select few are allowed in here," Axel replied. "About a quarter of the senior class and a handful of juniors. I invited you two."

"Thanks, but why would you _not_ want lowerclassmen to come to this place?" Xion inquired.

Axel gave her a strange look. "If we did, this place would be too crowded to use," he answered. "In case you didn't know, there're _way_ more freshmen and sophomores than there are juniors and seniors."

"Good point," Naminé muttered, heading to the couches. Then she halted. "Wait, what were we here for again?"

"I completely forgot," Xion admitted.

"I think you came here because I invited you?" Axel chuckled. He passed Naminé and plopped down on a couch. "Come on, sit down. The sofas won't bite."

Naminé gingerly perched on the arm of the sofa. The leather looked like a square inch of it cost more than her parents' car.

"Just how rich is this school?" the blonde muttered, glancing around nervously at the luxury surrounding her. She felt like some policeman was going to come in here and arrest for trespassing any second.

Axel wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her onto the couch next to him. "Pretty darn rich, actually, thanks to rich students," he grinned. "But hey, this room was made for us. Relax!"

"Naminé!" Xion called, striding over to the computers. "These—these—I've only ever seen these things in concept art!"

"So?" Naminé said, shrugging out of Axel's arm joining the brunette. The couch ring was sunk into an octagonal pit in the middle of the floor, and the eight sides of the pit were basically one giant set of stairs.

"These aren't even out on the open market!" Xion gasped, running a finger along the edge of a monitor. "Damn, they're beautiful…"

"Zexion's parents donated those," Axel called from his sofa. "Everything in this room was actually donated by students' parents."

"I'm guessing that only people who donated something to this room are allowed in here?" Naminé asked.

"Sharp," Axel commented. "Yep. Those windows are courtesy of my parents."

"You mean those monsters?" Xion inquired, pointing at one of the glass walls.

"Bingo!" Axel declared, jumping to his feet.

"I don't even want to know how much those things cost," Naminé muttered, glancing nervously at the enormous windows as if they would suddenly transform into giant shards of glass and impale her against the far wall.

A soft ding caught the trio's attention; the elevator's floor dial slid to 10.

"Who…?" Xion's voice trailed off as a very familiar redhead girl stepped into the common room.

But Kairi wasn't her usual arrogant self, or even the desperate, frightened side she'd shown earlier that day.

"Kairi, are you okay…?" Naminé's voice trailed off as she realized just how ridiculous her question was. And then a jolt of rage coursed through her. "Oh, that mother_fucker_!"

The girl was most certainly anything but okay. A large bruise along the side of her cheek was one of the more visible of her injuries, along with a gash sealed with dried blood on her forearm. A nasty scrape was present on her shin, and her left wrist was at an odd angle. There were several bite marks along the curve of her neck. Considering that she was shuddering in pain every time she walked, it was likely that her injuries weren't confined to only those that were visible.

She squeaked in fear when she locked eyes with Axel and Naminé, but surprisingly Xion darted forward and (carefully) grabbed her forearm.

"What happened?" Xion demanded. From her limited angle of view, Naminé could see that the brunette was near tears. Strange. "Who—who DID THIS TO YOU?"

"Nobody," Kairi choked. It was quite clear that she was lying.

Axel rushed forward and swept one arm down to his sister's knees and the other around her shoulders, gently carrying her to a sofa. Naminé knelt down next to the redhead girl.

"What happened?" she asked in a much gentler tone than Xion.

"I—I fell down the stairs," Kairi replied.

"The stairs can only be accessed by the staff outside of emergencies, except for during morning PE," Naminé remarked. She'd learned that little tidbit from Zexion. "What happened?"

"I fell down the stairs," Kairi stated through gritted teeth.

"It was Seifer, wasn't it?" Axel said. The traceur knelt down and looked into his sister's eyes. "Tell me the truth, Kairi. You can't lie to me."

Kairi's silence was all the confirmation required.

"I knew it," Xion muttered, shaking with rage. "I knew it. That bastard's gonna pay with his life if I get my hands on him."

Naminé looked at the traceuse curiously. "Why the sudden change of attitude?" Naminé asked. "You were cursing Kairi's name only days before."

And then the blonde shrank back as Xion glared at her. "I have ears, you know," the brunette ground out. "I heard what she said too."

"_I know you will," Kairi murmured. "I love you, Sora. I hope you can still believe me…"_

She knew Kairi had been truthful then, and judging by the brunette's tone, Xion had as well.

"Come on, let's take you to the infirmary," Axel sighed.

But Kairi shoved his hands away. "No," she pleaded. "He'll hurt me if he finds out…"

"Kairi, there's nothing to worry about," Axel said reassuringly. "We can protect you."

"And you'll get hurt too," Kairi whimpered.

"No, we won't," Naminé declared, standing up. To be honest, she wasn't sure how well she could fight (having never been in one), but she could certainly try. "Be brave, Kairi. You already were twice today."

"No, I wasn't," the redhead said. She rolled over and hugged herself. "I'm a dirty coward and I'm a bitch and I'm a traitor."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you finally admit it," Xion remarked. Then she yelped in pain as Naminé smacked the top of her head.

"What my rude friend here was trying to say was that it's good you understand what you've done," Naminé growled.

The traceuse muttered something under her breath.

"That's great," Kairi said in a monotone.

"Yes, it is. Now, why did you do it?" Axel inquired.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Kairi muttered, drawing her legs up to her chest.

There were two types of people of said that, those who meant it and those who were using to make people curious so that they could tell them. Naminé could tell Kairi was being the latter, but she decided to give the redhead the benefit of the doubt.

"Okay," she said softly. "We'll leave now."

To her credit Kairi didn't make a sound when they left the common room.

"Something's fishy about Kairi and Seifer's relationship," Axel muttered, once they'd returned to Room 126.

"No really?" Xion retorted. "I mean, she just got beaten by that asshole!"

"Can't she just…you know…tell on him?" Naminé asked. She received strange looks from Axel and Xion. "What? What's wrong with doing that?"

Xion shook her head. "Naminé, Seifer _beat_ Kairi for _talking _to Sora," the brunette said, emphasizing the verbs. "What do you think he'll do if he finds out she told the staff he beat her?"

Naminé didn't dare speculate. "Good point," she admitted. "So what can she do?"

"Nothing, at this point," Axel admitted. He frowned. "Xion, you mentioned that you had 'heard what she said too'?"

The brunette closed her eyes. "We went shopping for the Formal earlier today," she said. "We met Kairi…but she wasn't a bitch to or towards Sora. For once."

"Seifer saw Sora talking to Kairi," Naminé added. "Beanie flipped out and dragged Kairi away."

"But before she left, she told Sora…" Xion continued.

"'I love you. I hope you can still believe me'," the two girls recited in unison. "JINX!"

Axel rolled his eyes. "That was so random," he muttered. "Anyways, so Kairi still has feelings for Sora?"

"It looks like it," Naminé replied. "I think I have a working theory as to why that would be."

"Go on…"

"I think that Seifer intimidated Kairi into getting with him. Actually, that's probably true, judging by what we saw."

There was a thoughtful silence.

"That's…that doesn't seem too farfetched," Axel said slowly. "Hell, you're right, it probably _is_ true, judging by what happened to Kairi."

He sighed. "Goddamnit," he grumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I thought my sister really had gone rotten, but now..."

"We're all tired of the mystery," Xion sighed. "Fall Formal's coming up. Let's not talk about this until after it's over, deal?"

"Done."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Yeah, I know that Axel and Namine's reactions to Kairi getting hurt are a bit subdued, but they've yet to really show how angry they are. What's with me and Kairi bashing lately? :C

But if Namine is turning into a Mary Sue, tell me so I can fix it in later chapters. I hate Mary Sues and I have no intention of writing one.

Sorry about the pathetic ending, but I can explain (for once). I wrote Chapter 17 before this one, and if I didn't end Chapter 16 like that, then massive parts of Ch. 17 would've seemed as if it completely ignored Ch. 16.

Unless you guys vote "Side Romance" the most on my poll, then I'm never again writing another high school AU story. "Shade Hunters" doesn't count because its premise is a group of chosen humans fighting evil ghosts, not the teen angst and drama of high school.

Review, please! Even flames make me smile (which is pitiful, I know, but still). Good reviews, or better yet helpful reviews, make me bounce around in joy like a break-dancer on crack.


	17. Hurt and Comfort

An early update because next chapter's going to be long in coming. Patience, please?

Wondering where the paopu fruit and sea-salt ice cream is? I'm betting with myself on how long I'll last without making a single reference to paopu fruit or sea-salt ice cream in this story.

Next chapter's the Fall Formal. It'll have Arc 2's reader & reviewer credits!

I would die of asphyxiation if I had to reiterate how epic you guys (Komuro, riceballare for supporting me. Therefore, I shall give you a mere sample.

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME—

*faints from lack of oxygen*

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY. If I did, Xion wouldn't have died. Her death pretty much defeated the purpose of her character.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"No, Naminé, no! _Glide_, don't step!"

Naminé took a moment to rub her ankle before continuing. High heels were not only impossible to balance in, but they also _had_ to feel like chisels were cutting into her heels. And the straps were so tight her toes were starting to go numb.

"Sora, can't you loosen these straps a bit," she complained, releasing her foot. "I'm going to get gangrene in my toes!"

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes. "And you call me a wimp," he muttered, kneeling down to do as he was asked.

Xion and Roxas were sitting on a bench across the gym. They had already learned how to dance to Sora's satisfaction, but Naminé hadn't. She discovered the hard way that she was incredibly clumsy on the dance floor for some reason; it might've been the wax or it might've been her having two right feet or it simply might've been that Sora was taking his frustration with Xion and Roxas's failures out on _her_.

Whatever the reason was, the blonde would _not_ be wearing high heels to the Formal, no matter how many other girls would. She loathed the damned things.

"Again," Sora sighed, waving Naminé a few steps away to begin. "Xion, music?"

The traceuse jabbed a button on the small cassette player next to her and slow violin music drifted into the cavernous interior of the gym.

"Forward!" Sora called.

They gracefully stepped towards each other, each one grabbing the other's right arm in a smooth motion.

"Good…"

He and she twirled around in a spiral, synchronizing their steps perfectly to each other and the music.

"Good…"

He raised his arm in an arcing curve above her head, and she ducked under it.

That was where she screwed up.

"No, no, no, you don't duck under it!" Sora shouted, clearly exasperated. "You have to slide under my arm, not try to sweep kick me!"

"Well, I'm _tired_!" Naminé yelled back, sitting down. "We've been doing this the _whole_ _damned_ _day_ and I _refuse_ to move until we can take a _break_!"

Sora glared at her, but she simply rolled onto her back, completely unfazed by the brunette's anger.

Roxas strode over and kneeled down to his girlfriend. "Please, Naminé?" he murmured. "Think about it—if you get this over with quicker then you'll be out of here quicker."

Naminé just closed her eyes, pretending she had fallen asleep.

"Please? For me?"

The blonde groaned in resistance, but it was a bad habit of hers that she could almost never say no to her boyfriend.

"Fine," she mumbled, sitting up. "I'll do it…"

The traceur smiled and hugged her. "Thank you, Naminé," he whispered into her ear.

When he let go and joined a rather amused Xion on the bench, Naminé stood up, tired, hungry, barely able to keep her eyelids half-open, but still determined to see this through with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Let's get this over with," she declared, raising a hand as the music resumed. "_Forward_!"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Xion collapsed onto the chair as Naminé flopped onto her bunk. It had taken another two hours to dance to Sora's grueling standards, but the blonde had done it in the end.

Unfortunately, they were going to do this for _three _hours _every single day_ until the Formal, with an additional _six _hours _before _the event itself. 'Ouch' didn't begin to describe it...

"My feet are killing me," Naminé groaned as she massaged her aching feet. Her ankles hurt even more. "Why do we have to take dance lessons from Sora?"

"Because," Xion grumbled, crossing her arms. "Sora's one of the only people in this school who knows how to dance. He took ballet classes in middle school."

"Will we even have to know how to dance at the Formal?"

"Yeah, and don't forget our parents will be watching…"

"Now I hate your parents," Naminé grumbled. She rolled over onto her stomach to face the brunette. "They're the entire reason why I'm crippled for the rest of the day!"

"Pretty much everyone who's met them has come off hating them," Xion replied, gently rubbing her calf muscles. "I'm glad to see you're no different."

"Why's that?" Naminé asked, burying her face in the sheets.

"They're total perfectionists," Xion said sadly. "They want only the best for themselves, only the best in their children, and only the best for the children, although I kind of doubt that last part."

"Do you think they'll approve of me?" Naminé said. "I mean, I don't want them thinking badly of Sora if I'm not up to their standards—"

"Don't worry about it," Xion advised. She smiled. "I _highly_ doubt even my dad is going to find something wrong with you."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm their kid; I know what they like to see."

"Did that include you and Kairi?"

"Nope," Xion grinned. "I kept that entire relationship a secret all through middle school, and I still do."

Naminé nodded in admiration. "Nice work hiding it, then," she replied. "By the way, I've never heard your father's name."

"You just realized I never told you?" Xion chuckled. "Wow…"

"No, I didn't _just _realize that," Naminé said. "I was only wondering why you didn't want to tell me."

Xion looked down at her feet. "You'll know who they are when we meet them," the girl mumbled. "He's kind of tough to _not_ recognize…"

"He? Don't you mean 'they'?"

"When I don't want to talk about it, I don't, unlike Kairi," Xion snapped. "Yeah, 'he'. Just 'he', no 'she'."

"Sorry," Naminé replied, wincing. She had indeed gone out of bounds; whatever was wrong with Sora and Xion's family was their business, not hers.

The traceuse snorted, getting out of her chair and muscling up to her bunk. "Whatever…"

"No, really I am sorry."

"I know you are," Xion said, audibly exhaling. "It's…it's just a sore topic for me."

The blonde's only response was a sympathetic nod.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

How long had it been since she had opened the wire-bound pages of the worn sketchbook? Five, six, seven weeks?

The blonde girl sitting against the wall cared only that she had been neglecting her abilities at drawing. Curves and lines that had once been child's play—as reflexive as breathing—she now had to pay attention to in order to correctly illustrate. The power and precision she had gained from parkour helped a bit, but occasionally she was too precise and had to erase something.

She had a quiet laugh at the almost absurd idea—a rivalry between the two disciplines she had grown to equally favor.

The place the artist was at was the same spot where Roxas had saved her from Seifer. She didn't care, though—she was no longer the weak damsel in distress she'd been at the start of the year. Naminé glanced up from her work to catch a flicker of movement—the barest flash of grey cotton T-shirt against a neighboring tower. She smiled, closing the sketchbook, and strode over to the arch of the open-air window.

"Roxas, is that you?" she called, cupping her mouth with one hand.

The traceur was visible as a blur down the tower, until ten minutes later when his spiky hair was poking over the edge of the window. The artist hauled him inside and gave him a quick peck on the end of his near-frozen nose.

"Aren't you cold?" Naminé asked, disapprovingly looking his outfit up and down.

He was shivering in a short-sleeved T-shirt and baggy shorts, neither of which was suitable winter wear. She had on boy's jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt.

"Kind of," Roxas admitted, rubbing his hands.

She rolled her eyes at the boy's shortsightedness before hugging him, not failing to notice pink flashing up his face. She breathed in his scent, closing her eyes—he smelled of fresh-cut grass and fragrant morning dew.

"But not anymore." When she looked up he was smiling.

"I'm glad to hear that," Naminé replied, resting her head against his toned chest.

But before she could release him, his own arms were circled around her back, squeezing her body against his. Naminé squeaked in surprise and attempted to pull away, to no avail.

"I'm still not warm enough," Roxas smirked. "Yeah, pathetic one-liner, I know…"

She had to roll her eyes again—that line was cheesier than most of the sitcoms her mother loved to watch—and hugged him back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before breaking apart.

Empty—that was what Naminé felt when the pressure of Roxas's body was lifted from her. She wanted to embrace him again and feel him against her skin.

Instead, she returned to where she had been drawing.

"So how's my favorite artist?" Roxas smiled, sitting down beside her. "Drawing again, I see?"

"I haven't used this thing since September," Naminé grumbled, picking up a pencil from the case beside her.

He looked over her shoulder to see what she was drawing, and nodded in admiration. Naminé normally didn't like people to watch her drawing, but Roxas was a different story altogether.

"The clock tower?" he asked.

She nodded and began to write in Roman numerals along the perimeter of the giant clock face.

"Are you going to actually draw the entire view?" Roxas's tone was one of incredulity.

The artist smirked and prepared a cutting comeback questioning Roxas's work ethic, but before she could answer a soft voice drifted through the still air of the corridor.

"Naminé? Roxas?"

"Kairi?" Naminé said in surprise. She felt Roxas tense behind her, but placed a hand on his arm to stay him.

"I wanted to talk to somebody," the redhead admitted shyly. She looked at feet, long auburn strands of hair framing her face, likely trying to hide the enormous bruise on her face.

The blonde nodded knowingly, patting the carpet next to her. "Come on, sit down," Naminé invited.

"But—"

A poke from Naminé silenced Roxas.

Kairi smiled—a nervous, unsure action—before gently lowering herself down beside the two blondes. The redhead winced as her bottom made contact with the floor.

"What happened to you?" Roxas asked in alarm. "How'd you get that—?"

"Nothing," Kairi interrupted, turning her cheek from the traceur.

Naminé sighed. "Kairi, how long are you going to keep denying that Seifer abuses you?" she said. "No amount of makeup's going to hide that big of a shiner…"

Roxas looked horrified by the revelation. "He—"

All the redhead could do was nod.

"That son of a bitch," he muttered. His fists clenched. "Fucking coward…"

"I don't know what to do," Kairi whispered, leaning her head against the wall.

"Do you even love him?" Naminé asked.

"Of course not," she sniffled. "My _body _might be with Seifer, but my _heart's_ still with Sora."

To his credit, Roxas was savvy enough not to make what would've been a biting comment about Kairi's honesty. He just smiled and nodded sympathetically.

"I wanted to protect him—I care about him a lot, I really do," Kairi murmured sadly. Tears were gathering at the corners of her eyes, bunching and fusing together. "But I'm just hurting him, aren't I?"

And Naminé made the mistake of saying, "You _were_…"

Saltwater contained in teardrops began to silently stream down Kairi's face like an apocalyptic flood.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

But no amount of apologies could soothe the hysterical redhead. So Naminé took the only option she really had left.

She hugged Kairi. Her hands gently stroked through the redhead's silky hair and she rested her chin on Kairi's head, pulling the other girl against her in a motherly embrace.

The girl finally seemed to find her voice. "I—I—I'm s-such a _bitch_!" Kairi cried.

"You're not like that at all," Naminé murmured. "I can't possibly imagine what you had to go through with Seifer—you're a brave, strong person, not a bitch."

Roxas wrapped his long arms around both of them. "Don't worry, Kairi," the traceur said softly. His voice was reassuringly confident. "This'll work out…we—we'll help you. Don't worry."

"But, but, Roxas, Naminé, all those things I said about you..."

"We know you didn't mean it, Kairi. Don't worry." Roxas grinned and winked.

Kairi's smile was so much like Sora's the day he and his sister told Naminé about Fall Formal, the blonde noticed. Hopeful, grateful, believing that things really _would_ work out in the end…

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Damn you Kairi, you just had to go and ruin a good Namixas fluff.

Yes, Naminé's a bit of a whiny b**** in the beginning, but think about it. Wouldn't you be a bit irritable after nearly a full day of practicing (in high heels, no less) with no breaks whatsoever?

I have no idea how a dance goes. If I'm wrong, sue me, I don't care, but I would appreciate it if you could figure out what the hell kind of dance I was writing (tango, flamenco, etc.) and tell me straight up that I screwed up writing it, AND show me what was wrong. Yes, it was inspired by "Black and White", and apparently I can't remember how the dancing was described. Now that I think about it, I think that "Black and White" also gave me the idea of making Xion Naminé's roommate.

Gah. I thought that was an uncommon idea, but it looks like I was wrong.

Also, you'll find out why Naminé believes in Kairi later—much, much later, that is if you haven't already figured it out.

Until next time! Don't forget to review!


	18. Fall Formal, Part 1 of 2

80 reviews? OMGOMGOMGOMG…THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!

I can only _hope_ that my testosterone levels will return to normal after writing this one. Good God, a _guy_ writing about a _dance_?

Alright guys, rant over.

Chapter 18 Part 1 of 2. Let's do this.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Xion, a towel wrapped around her head, walked into the main room of the dorm. "Naminé, could you please go and find Kairi for me?"

The blonde lowered the hair dryer and looked around at the unexpected request. "What do you need Kairi for?" she asked.

"You'll see," Xion replied.

"That's not telling me much…"

"Just go!" Xion said, shoving the artist out their shared dorm. "And tell her to bring her dress with her!"

There was a _click_ as the lock was engaged, just as Naminé reached for the doorknob.

The blonde stared in shock at the door. "Well, I might as well do something useful…" she sighed, heading for the elevator.

Fall Formal would start at 8:00 PM and would end at 12:30 AM. There were only two hours on the clock and counting down, so Naminé wasn't expecting to see anybody in the hallways.

"How am I even supposed to find her?" the blonde grumbled, regretting her neglect to ask that question to Xion. "ADBS is huge…"

Maybe she could ask Yuna. Naminé knocked on the door of the heterochromatic girl's dorm and was met by a frightening mask of sickly green powder and tea bags. Two mismatched green and blue eyes were set above the tea bags, so the thing could be identified as Yuna, but still…

"Can I help you?" the mask inquired in a cheery but not exactly friendly voice.

Naminé forced down the urge to bolt right then and there. "I'm looking for Kairi," the blonde said in a small voice. "Can—can you tell me her room number?"

"Room 223, floor 10," Yuna replied, before slamming the door shut.

"So hostile," Naminé mumbled, shivering.

Even-numbered floors were for girls and odd-numbered floors were for boys. It took the elevator a minute to ascend to the tenth floor.

Room 223 was several steps away from the elevator doors. Naminé timidly scurried up to it and paused to gather up a modicum of confidence, before rapping on the white-painted wood.

"Yes?" somebody called from inside.

"Can I speak to Kairi?" Naminé said as loud as she dared—that is, not very loud at all. She had no wish to incite the wrath of another primping girl.

The door was opened by the redhead. "What do you want?" Kairi asked in an even tone, her violet eyes wary.

"Xion told me to bring you back to our dorm," Naminé answered in a stronger voice. "Also, bring your dress."

"No." Kairi made to close her door, but Naminé charged through the gap, ducking under the redhead's arm. "Hey!"

Why had she done it? She had no idea.

A quick look around the room revealed that everything in the room looked like it was going to try and murder her—the bunk bed, the wallpaper, and an enraged-looking Fuu.

"Away," the red-eyed girl snarled, stalking towards the blonde.

"Fuck off, Fuu," the artist growled back.

Time seemed to come to a standstill as Naminé froze. Had she actually said that?

Judging by Fuu and Kairi's shocked expressions, she had.

"WHAT?" Fuu roared, leaping at her, fists raised.

Naminé squeaked an apology and made to back away, but something jerked her legs forward and she dived past the pounce. The blonde's fist jerked up as she passed Fuu, smacking into the red-eyed girl's shoulder and sending her tumbling to the floor.

Fuu stood up, smoldering with anger, but Naminé could also see shock written all over the other girl's face.

"How did I do that?" Naminé mumbled, even as her fists rose up into a combat position, right forward and left back.

Both girls eyed each other up for a heartbeat, calculating angles and trajectories and trying to predict her opponent's next move.

The artist made the first strike, moving so quickly she was a blur. Fuu jumped back to avoid a right hook even as Naminé's left foot flashed up at the red-eyed girl's hip.

It connected with a sickening _thuck_ noise.

Fuu stumbled back, but quickly recovered and charged again. Naminé twirled around her adversary, smoothly crouching down as she did so, and swept an outstretched leg into Fuu's calves. The other girl fell to her knees, leaving her vulnerable for a second.

An irresistible force flooded Naminé's limbs and she felt her right leg rise up, coil, and spring forward with incredible force directly into Fuu's undefended back. With a moan of pain, Fuu collapsed onto her side, apparently beaten.

"Pathetic," Naminé snapped, but another voice was layered under hers—a dry, iron-hard male voice. "Wait, why'd I say that?"

"More importantly, _how_ did you do that?" Kairi whispered in terror, pressing her back against the door.

"How should I know?" Naminé said in a nervous voice—but just _her_ voice.

A thousand pins and needles prickled her skin and a massive pressure lifted from her, as if she'd been under the power of three Earth gravities. Pain flooded her body.

"AHHH—"

Naminé fell to her knees, writhing in agony. It felt as if her arms and legs were being ripped apart, as if the muscles and ligaments in her limbs were being stretched and stretched and stretched to the point of popping off her bones.

After a minute of this torture, her vision returned, streaked with tears. She hadn't even noticed she had squeezed her eyes shut.

Kairi looked like she was deciding between the choices of running away or helping Naminé. The blonde couldn't blame her; she'd been scared out of her wits too when she had watched the lunch brawl back on the second day.

"A little help?" Naminé groaned, struggling to get to her feet.

That snapped Kairi out of her indecision. The redhead hauled Naminé to her feet.

"Could I ask you how the hell you fought Fuu like that?" Kairi asked. She kept a hand on Naminé's shoulder, just in case.

"I told you, I don't know," Naminé replied, rubbing her noggin. She now had a massive headache, too.

"Okay…" Kairi murmured, clearly not convinced. "Then…let's—let's go to Xion, shall we?"

"Please?"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"What happened to you?" Xion cried, rushing forward to balance a woozy Naminé. "Are you okay, Naminé?"

"I have no idea what happened to me," Naminé mumbled. Her eyelids were droopy and everything felt slightly unreal. "And no, I'm not okay. Do I look like I'm okay to you?"

"I guess not," Xion replied, leading her roommate towards the bunk. "Sit down."

Naminé was grateful for the chance to get off her feet. The pain in her arms and head had slowed to a tolerable throbbing, but every time her feet touched the ground a spike of fire shot up her legs.

Through the dark haze at the edges of her vision that seemed like it was going to smother her, Naminé could hear Xion and Kairi talking about something. The blonde focused and attempted to pay attention, but the other two girls sounded like they were a mile off.

"—beat Fuu—" Kairi was saying.

"How—she—that—" Xion replied.

"—don't—"

"—she couldn't—have—Fuu—"

"What're you talking about?" Naminé grumbled, her head lolling from side to side. "Yeah, I got into a fight with Fuu and I beat her. What's the big deal?"

They either didn't hear her or she hadn't said anything at all. In her delirium, some remaining rational part of Naminé thought, the latter was certainly possible.

"Can you guys even hear me?"

Kairi and Xion's heads snapped around. "Are you okay, Naminé?" they said in unison.

"I'm fine," Naminé replied, waving her hand.

"Okay," Xion declared, but she was obviously unconvinced. "Then we'll just leave you alone, then…"

"Yeah, sure, thanks…" Naminé rolled onto her bunk and snuggled into the sheets, curling up into a fetal position. A quick nap wouldn't hurt…

She felt drowsy—kind of like how she felt half an hour into a particularly boring lecture, or whenever she pulled an all-nighter. She heard things, saw things (not hallucinations), but the moment she switched her attention to something else she forgot them. Naminé could see Xion guiding a clearly reluctant Kairi into the bathroom and closed the door, but didn't really understand why.

The expression was 'in one ear and out the other', she believed.

"I wonder if Xion thinks she's gonna get lucky," Naminé giggled with a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Two sharp pressures jabbed at her temples. Painfully.

"Ow—"

The drowsiness cleared.

Naminé slowly sat up, her ice blue eyes alert and sharp. After a second she relaxed and hopped off the bed.

"Xion?" the blonde called, placing an ear against the bathroom door.

"Yeah?"

"What're you two doing in there?"

"We're…Kairi, hold on a second, Naminé'll go much faster."

There was an affirmative noise and the door was opened. "Come in," Xion ordered, beckoning Naminé to the chair set in front of the sink. Kairi was standing off to the side with an uncertain expression still on her face.

The blonde sat down and primly folded her hands in her lap.

"Keep still, all right?" Xion warned, holding up a hairbrush. "This might hurt a bit…"

From the reflected view in the mirror, Naminé could see the traceuse lift a hairbrush and move it forward…

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"A _bit_, huh?" Kairi's tone was sarcastic.

"Hey, you want to take over for me, be my guest. If not, hold down Naminé so she doesn't mess up her hair."

Kairi meekly obliged.

Tears of distress were leaking out of Naminé's eyes and she did her very best to _not_ clutch at her hair, which felt like somebody had run a lawnmower down on it. She'd been scalped, she knew it. Why else would it be so painful?

"A one, a two, and a one two three…"

Once again the hairbrush dragged fire down Naminé's scalp.

"Ow," the blonde whimpered, squeezing her hands together so hard her rather short nails were cutting into her skin.

"Again…" Xion pulled the hairbrush down.

"Ow!"

After approximately five more minutes of suffering, Naminé's hair was pronounced as free of tangles.

"Which way do you want it?" the brunette inquired. "Up or down?"

"Why did we have to do it here?" Naminé whined, careful not to rub at her tortured flaxen locks lest Xion would have to brush it again. "I bet they could do it _painlessly_."

"One, money's scarce," Xion retorted. "Two, I could style your hair almost as well. Three, crying's for babies. No waterworks in _my_ bathroom, oh no."

"Down, then," Naminé mumbled, cursing Xion's name with every heartbeat. "And _don't_ kill my hair again, please."

"Whatever…"

After a quick application of the blow dryer, Naminé's hair was complete.

"Your turn, Kairi," Naminé gloated, grinning evilly as she got up.

"It can't have hurt _that_ bad," the redhead said nervously as she occupied the now vacant chair. "Right…?"

The other two girls' only response was a wicked chuckle.

"Three, two, one…" Xion raised her implement of pain—the hairbrush.

And Kairi's scream of agony tore through the building.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"You look so pretty, Naminé," Kairi mumbled, knitting her fingers together. "I wish I could be you…"

Naminé considered the redhead's words for a moment. "Me? Pretty? I guess I am, _but_," the blonde grinned, adjusting her dress's choker strap. "I bet you're going to be the _belle_ of the ball."

"There's no way that's happening," Kairi replied, furiously shaking her head.

"Don't underestimate yourself," Xion advised, smiling slightly. "Every guy in there is going to be staring at you the whole night, you can be sure of that."

"Why are you complimenting me when you slapped me?" Kairi asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry about what I said, but I still haven't forgotten what you did…"

It suddenly felt as if the dorm's temperature dropped.

To absolute zero.

"Okay, I'm sorry for slapping you," Xion said with a tight tone. "Do you want another one?"

The redhead instantly backed up. "I'll pass."

"No violence," Naminé warned, tactfully not mentioning that Kairi had hit her. "I don't want to have to break up a fight."

To the blonde's surprise, Xion immediately submitted, just giving Kairi a glare before returning her attention to the hem of her gown.

Since when had Naminé had that kind of authority?

She tried to break the uncomfortable silence. "Well, let's go see if the guys are here, okay?" Naminé suggested, heading for the door leading to the hallway.

"Okay," Xion said tonelessly, shooting another glare at Kairi when Naminé wasn't looking.

A quick look into the corridor showed no sign of Roxas or Sora, but so Naminé stepped back inside the dorm. But just as she was about to return to Xion and Kairi, there was a loud knock at the door.

She jumped. "Holy—!"

Naminé forced her adrenaline-jolted heart to return to a steadier beat, and opened the door.

"You scared me, you id—" Her breath caught in her throat as she stared, wide-eyed, at the tuxedoed man—not boy—standing in the hallway.

"Hello, Roxas," Naminé said nervously, feeling warmth course from her collarbone all the way up to her forehead. "Y-you look nice."

Roxas grinned and nodded. "Thanks Naminé," the traceur said, stepping into the dorm. "But you look absolutely dazzling."

_Stop blushing, stop blushing, stop blushing!_

Naminé swallowed, hard, and managed to stutter out a noise of gratitude.

The other blond smirked. "I love it when you do that," he whispered, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Blushing, I mean."

The kiss was brief but tantalizing, only a teaser of the real thing. When the two blondes disengaged, Naminé's face was a vibrant shade of tomato red.

"PDAs?" Sora's voice called out from behind them. The brunette, clad in a jet-black tux nearly identical to Roxas's, stepped into the room. "I thought you two were above that!"

"Shut _up_, Sora," Naminé ground out, clenching her fists.

The earthen-haired boy just laughed. "I'm kind of jealous of you two, actually," he sighed, leaning against the wall. "Wait a sec, where's Xion?"

Now that she thought about it…

"Xion…?" Naminé called.

There was a bang followed by a loud yell of "I'm not going out there!" that came from the bathroom.

Sora frowned. "That didn't sound like Xion," he observed, raising an eyebrow. "Was that—?"

The bathroom door flew open and Kairi rushed out, covering her head just as an unpleasantly familiar hairbrush bounced off of it. "What was that for, Xion?" she yelled.

And then the redhead froze as she realized who else was in the room. "Um, hi…Sora…"

Both Sora and, as Naminé looked around, Roxas's faces were burning crimson. The blonde felt a little pang of jealousy as she returned her gaze to the redhead.

Kairi, simply put, looked incredible. Her long, silky hair had been left down, and it flowed down her shoulders and back like a scarlet waterfall. Skillfully applied rouge and makeup hid the bruise on her jaw, and the mascara at her lashes gave the effect that her violet eyes were glowing.

The dress she had chosen was a simple, elegant design—light red and ankle length; detached sleeves covered her slender arms and the healing cuts there. The two straps crossed over, curving around the sides of Kairi's neck from the opposite shoulders. It flared out slightly at the hips and cinched at the waist, accentuating its wearer's every concave and convex.

Naminé felt like a guppy next to a blue whale. That Kairi was wearing classy high heels and she was wearing mere flats didn't help.

"Wow," Sora choked. "Y-y-y-you—."

Roxas, suave charmer that he was, recovered first. "What this illiterate boy here is trying to say," the blond smirked, clapping a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Is that you look simply stunning, Kairi."

"Thank you Roxas," Kairi mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"You can thank me for dolling her up," Xion remarked, flicking off the light switch as she strode out of the bathroom. "Naminé didn't help one bit."

"I refuse to participate in the torture of another human being," Naminé retorted. "I never knew how much getting my hair brushed would hurt."

"Whatever you say," Xion said cheerfully. She gestured into the hallway. "Shall we?"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Now, you may have noticed that exactly where the Formal was to be held has not been mentioned.

Naminé stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that, and began repeatedly smacking her forehead in frustration.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Naminé, what's wrong?" Roxas said in alarm, separating his girlfriend's hand from her noggin.

"Where's the dance going to be at?" Naminé asked.

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You were hitting yourself over and over because you never found out where the Formal was going to be held?"

"Pretty much…"

"Wow," Sora chuckled, derisively rolling his eyes. "In any case, you'll see when we get outside."

The group was heading towards the garage, where the parents would enter the school. Xion had suggested boarding the elevator ten minutes early to avoid the inevitable clustering that would clog up the elevators.

"Roxas, are your parents coming?" Naminé asked.

The traceur's face instantly darkened. "No. My dad's too busy."

She noted that he didn't mention his mother at all, but Naminé decided not to press the issue.

"What about yours, Kairi?"

The redhead jerked, startled, and looked at Naminé. "My what?" Kairi said.

"Your parents. Are they coming?"

Kairi shook her head. "They…"

"I won't ask," Naminé cut in. She had no interest whatsoever in Kairi's family life.

None. Nada. At all.

The elevator's floor dial slid to Garage 2, the guest garage. Sora and Xion were out first, followed by a slightly less enthusiastic Naminé and Roxas. Kairi hung back.

"Come on, Kairi," Naminé called, waving the redhead forward. "My parents won't bite."

The other girl took a step but hesitated. "I just feel as if I don't really belong here…"

And then Sora was somehow at Kairi's side, reassuringly hugging her. She didn't shove him away, for some reason.

"Don't worry about that, Kairi," he said quietly. He smiled. "This'll all work out, trust me."

"Naminé!"

Everybody whirled around, searching the vast garage for whoever had called out the blonde's name. 'Whoever' turned out to be a six-year-old boy sprinting towards Naminé.

The artist laughed and rushed forward, picking the boy up and twirling him around.

"Ven!" Naminé shouted, hugging her little brother. She turned around, still cradling Ventus in her arms. "Guys, say hello to my little brother, Ventus."

"Hey there, Ventus," Roxas grinned, stepping forward and holding out a hand. "I'm Roxas. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Ventus echoed with an eerily similar grin. "Are you Naminé's husband?"

Xion and Sora howled with laughter as Naminé and Roxas's complexions darkened into shades resembling that of ripe strawberries. Even Kairi gave a little chuckle.

"You…could say that," Roxas choked.

"Yeah," Naminé mumbled, setting her little brother on his feet.

"Who're the rest of your friends?" Ventus asked, pointing at Xion, Sora, and Kairi. "That girl is pretty."

"Me?" Xion beamed, ostentatiously gesturing at herself.

"Her," Ventus said, pointing at Kairi. It was Roxas and Naminé's turns to guffaw as Xion scowled in obvious jealousy.

"Thank you," Kairi murmured with a slight smile, kneeling down to give Ventus a peck on the forehead. "You look handsome yourself, little guy."

Ventus instantly turned bright red (eliciting snickers from everybody except Kairi) and looked down at his shoes. "Th-thank you."

"Ven! Where are you?"

"Mom! Dad!" Naminé shouted, waving furiously at her approaching parents. "Over here!"

Ryo was dressed in an immaculate dark green business suit; Jennifer had on a flowing dark blue gown.

"Hello, Naminé," Jennifer said, smiling. "Who're your friends?"

"She's Xion," Naminé said, nodding at the brunette. "And he's Sora, and she's Kairi."

She turned to her friends. "Guys, this is my mom and dad."

"You girls all look beautiful tonight," Ryo commented. "Especially you, Miss Kairi."

Kairi smiled shyly. "Thank you, Mr. Miyamoto."

"And you boys have dressed up well," Jennifer said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Miyamoto," Sora and Roxas grinned in unison.

"Well, the ballroom should be readying to ascend," Xion murmured.

Naminé gave the brunette a confused look. "Ballroom?"

"You'll see," Roxas said with a half smile. The traceur gestured at the elevator. "Let's go."

Surprisingly, nobody was going down to the garage as of yet. The group entered the elevator and Sora jabbed in the first floor as their destination. Naminé noticed that Ryo and Roxas were pointedly staring at each other with guarded expressions.

"I presume, from your proximity to my daughter, that you're her boyfriend?" Ryo inquired.

The traceur nodded. "Roxas Takahashi," he said, holding out a hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Miyamoto."

His tone was formal, rehearsed—as if he was interacting with a business associate or just somebody important.

Ryo nodded. "And exactly what is this story about your having a date other than your girlfriend?"

Sora held up a finger. "That's where we come in," the brunette said. "You see, my sister and I never wanted to go to this Formal."

"But our father ordered us to, and he ordered us to bring partners of the opposite gender," Xion continued.

"I was going to take Kairi, but…" Sora glanced nervously at the redhead.

"Somebody else asked me out first," Kairi said quickly.

"So now, Sora's taking me and Roxas is taking Xion," Naminé finished.

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Quite a setup you five have."

"So is this a pity date?" Ryo asked.

"NO!" the five juniors shouted simultaneously.

"It's—" Sora.

"—not—" Naminé.

"—a pity date, it's—" Roxas.

"—assisting me and—" Xion.

"Sora!" Kairi finished.

"Let me get this straight," Ryo said. "As I understand it, Naminé, you and Roxas are taking Xion and Sora as dates to this…_formal_…so that they could please their parents?"

The artist nodded. "That's the gist of it."

"Some father you kids have," Jennifer muttered.

"Almost everybody who meets him comes off disliking him," Xion admitted.

"Excuse me," Ventus said slowly. "But you've only talked about your daddy. Where's your mom?"

Silence.

"That's…now that I think about it, you've only ever referred to your father whenever you talked about your parents, Xion," Naminé recalled.

"And I've only ever seen your mother like…what? Three, four times?" Roxas remarked.

Xion and Sora looked distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of their mother. Jennifer shot Naminé a warning look; Kairi dug a finger into Roxas's arm.

"Never mind," both blondes said quickly.

Thankfully, the elevator floor counter morphed to a 1 and the doors opened.

The group walked out the door just in time to see—

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Naminé!"

"How did—?"

—a building rise out of the ground.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

No idea if hair brushing can actually hurt that much. As for Naminé's drowsiness, that will be cleared up later, pardon the pun.

Well, what'd you think? I'm usually not comfortable with writing long chapters (I can't check the quality as well as in a normal 4-pager), but making you guys wait this long (nine days. NINE) was a bit stressful. Plus, I don't know what to make of this chapter. Is it good, is it bad, have my skills gone downhill?

Please let me know with that blue button ~1 cm from the bottom of the text!

And yes, Chapter 18 will be in two parts. I'm planning ~16 pages for the full chapter.

Arc 2 reviewers! Thank you guys so, so much for your continuing support! You are A-MAY-ZING!

**Komuro: **Like the summary says, the Namixas will be pretty tempestuous.

**maxeyn: **Kairi is a bitch no longer, finally.

**Goddess of Discord and Heaven: **No seriously, where'd you find the Pokémon reference?

**riceball793: **Yeah, tough and badass Naminé's taken up too much of the airwaves and kind and sweet Naminé needs some fresh air. ^^

**Bittersweet Apathy: **Oh yes, fantastic. Even more so when you consider that, you know, Roxas was literally on top of Naminé when he said that? XD

**NAV1109: **Seifer. Must. DIE.

**Wrath lover: **Well, I hope Chapter 16 cleared up for you as to why Xion forgave Sora so easily.

**king of hope: **They will. Hopefully. Oh who am I kidding, they will.

**Truth-Unspoken: **One of my friends has an obsession with Portal memes. She says "The cake is a lie!" every time one of us says we lied, and that's how I got the idea. ^^

**Runix56: **I hope these chapters were worth waiting two weeks for!

**XShiori-chanX: **Yep, Xion certainly is a ray of sunshine throughout most of the story, isn't she?

**One Sky-One Dream-One Destiny: **Well, I'm glad that "Jump" made your day.

**Ciel Denali: **I _had _a bunch of ideas for messing with Naminé's character, but the more the merrier! Thanks!

**XLeftOnTheLineX: **More cute Namixas scenes incoming. :3

**smileydomino: **I did not like writing bitchy Kairi. DID NOT. I certainly hope nobody here does.

**puppylove98162: **Well, I hope this chapter is everything you wished for!

**poohbearlover95: **Their dad is…well, you'll see.

**Guest Reviewer (Random KH Fangirl):** Thanks! :P And Riku hasn't appeared yet, but he's a-coming. Patience, please!

For the third time, THANK YOU ALL!

Have a wonderful day!

~SB~out~


	19. Fall Formal, Part 2 of 2

YES! FINALLY! CHAPTER 18.2, _UP_!

*cackles like madman*

I hate writing long chapters. My muse PMSs on me every other hour, I stress out about how I'm going to finish it, blah blah blah.

Plus, I kept you guys waiting for so long that I decided to make Ch. 18 Pt. 2 even longer than I originally intended in exchange for your guys' patience. Fourteen pages on Word 2007, whew…

So…happy reading! And please don't kill me for what happens.

Warning: Spoiler alert for a BBS character's appearance! You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

Just this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The five towers of ADBS were arranged in a giant pentagon. Five paved paths led from each tower to a massive center stone at the grounds' dead center.

And now that very stone—apparently actually the roof of the school's ballroom—was majestically rising out of the ground like a fast-forwarded clip of the construction of a Great Pyramid.

"How the heck did that thing work?" Naminé asked, still gawking at the now fully ascended ballroom.

"It's lifted by five solid steel wedges compressing together and forcing the ballroom up a hidden passage, sort of like an elevator," Kairi explained. When she got strange looks from everybody else, she said, "What? What's wrong with reading up on ADBS's history?"

"Nothing," Sora replied, striding towards the ballroom. "C'mon, guys."

The ballroom had to be at least hundred feet to a side; the outside resembled a Greek temple, all gleaming marble and buffed granite with steps tipping the outer edges and elegant Ionic columns supporting the roof tail. The door in front of the group was a colossus of polished wood and gleaming steel.

The inside was even more spectacular—five arcing buttresses supported the soaring domed ceiling, the very top of which was seemingly opened to the night sky. After a moment Naminé realized that that window was actually a massive television screen, likely linked to cameras on the roof.

Thirty-five spotlights were arranged so that every square inch of the richly carpeted floor was bathed with illumination, and the golden oak dance floor was accessed with seven layers of steps that resembled the titular locale from Dante's _Inferno_. Dozens of tables already packed high with refreshments lined the area around.

"Are we even supposed to be in here yet?" Jennifer asked as she gazed at the awe-inspiring interior of the ballroom.

"We're allowed inside the moment the ballroom has fully risen," Xion answered with a slight smile.

"Amazing," Ryo murmured. "We never saw this on the website."

Cries of awe and shock could be heard from outside as the rest of Arthur Durand Boarding School's seven hundred students and their parents filed out of the dorm tower.

"I have to go," Kairi said quickly, turning to exit. "Seifer should be here any moment."

Sora reached out to grab the redhead's wrist, but she tore her arm out of his grasp.

"Kairi, wait—"

"I have to _go_!"

With that, Kairi ran, disappearing through the door. Sora made to follow but he was forced to stop when a flood of people rushed into the ballroom.

"Come on, Sora," Roxas muttered, clapping a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. "You'll see her later. Let's go…"

"I guess I will," Sora said sadly. He took Naminé's arm and Roxas took Xion's. "All right, let's dance."

"_After_ we listen to Headmaster Xehanort's incredibly long and boring speech, we can," Xion corrected.

"The way you said that, one would think you're eager to," Roxas said dryly.

Xion shuddered in mock horror. "Never!"

Naminé realized what the two were trying to do—distract Sora from Kairi. Judging by the amused expression on the brunette boy's face, Xion and Roxas were succeeding.

"I wonder if Axel and Larxene are coming together," Naminé mused with a slight smile.

Roxas snorted. "That'll be the day," he muttered, shaking his spiky blond head. "Axel might do the craziest stuff in parkour but he's an utter coward when it comes to Larxene."

"What's parkour?" Ventus asked, tugging on the hem of Naminé's dress.

"Is it something dangerous?" Ryo demanded, his nostrils flaring.

"No, Mr. Miyamoto," Roxas sighed. "Parkour's just getting from Point A to Point B as quickly and directly as possible. It's fun and safe and there's nothing dangerous about it, as long as you use proper safety precautions."

"Which we do," Naminé added.

Ryo looked disappointed. "Oh. Okay."

"Naminé, you said 'we'," Jennifer noted. "Do you do parkour, too?"

The blonde nodded. "Roxas taught me," she said. "And Dad, don't you dare overreact to that."

Naminé's father's expression resembled that of a frolicking child who was ordered to do his homework.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"What was the purpose of this speech again?" Naminé said. She and Xion were the only ones in the group not already half or fully asleep on their feet.

"So the Headmaster could hear himself talk," Xion answered, rubbing her eyes. "The guy's practically got a hobby of boring people to death."

Sora suddenly snorted and jumped. "I swear I didn't take the last cookie!" he cried. "Xion framed me, Mom!"

The brunette girl smacked her brother upside the head. "Wake up, numbnuts," she snarled. "And don't mention Mom again."

Before Sora could respond, Headmaster Xehanort's scratchy, croaky, and exceptionally boring droning came to a close.

"We thank you all for coming here. Let the dance begin!"

Roxas cracked an eye open. "Is it done?" he murmured.

"Yes it is," Naminé said with a small smile. "Wake up, sleepy-head."

The traceur leaned forward and pecked his girlfriend on the lips before taking Xion's arm. Naminé took a moment to revel in the lingering sensation of her boyfriend's lips on her own before following suit and wrapping her arm around Sora's.

"Where's your father?" the blonde asked.

"He'll be waiting," Xion said cryptically. The brunette motioned for Ryo and Jennifer to follow.

The four kids (Jennifer, Ryo, and Ventus decided to stay) wove through the currents and thickets of human bodies, heading for a spot near a door opposite the one they had come through.

As they slid through a crowd of people, Naminé caught a flash of blood-red hair and blonde antennae—Axel, with Larxene on his arm.

The blonde poked Roxas. "You were wrong," she chuckled. "Axel _is_ brave enough to ask Larxene out."

The traceur whirled around, pulling Xion to a dead stop (and nearly horizontal). "What!" he said. "Where?"

"Roxas, we can see them later," Xion hissed, jerking him forward. "Come _on_!"

"I'd listen to her, man," Sora advised, dragging the unmoving Naminé along like the blonde weighed nothing. "Our dad's not somebody to keep waiting."

"Oh all right," Roxas sighed, falling into step with Xion.

Naminé felt something heavy and cold settle in the pit of her stomach. In truth she had no desire to meet Xion and Sora's father; she had no idea if she'd offend him, or not impress him, or whatever. She was afraid she'd disappoint.

That very thought frightened her out of her wits. What would Xion think of her? What would Sora think of her? What would Roxas—

"Nervous?" the traceur whispered.

"Yeah," Naminé mumbled. She hung her head. Where was all her bravado from before?

"So am I," Roxas admitted. Then he smiled. "But just go to your happy place. Maybe that'll help."

It was no help, considering that stress made for a good happiness-blocker and that she didn't really have a happy place anywhere near here. Naminé decided to simply ignore her jitters and focus on what would happen after this.

She'd dance with Sora first, quickly, and then Roxas would ask her to dance…when a slow song was playing…yeah…

The artist got so deep into her reassuring fantasies that she jumped when Sora jabbed her arm.

"That's him," the brunette said, pointing.

Naminé followed the trajectory of the finger to a group of four burly men dressed in black business suits. After a second she realized that those men were bodyguards.

"Just who is your father, anyways?" she hissed. "I mean, _bodyguards_?"

"I guarantee your jaw is going to drop when you see him," Sora replied in a glum voice. "Be sure not to—that wouldn't make a good impression."

"Okay," she frowned, wondering just who could elicit such a reaction.

When she did see Xion and Sora's father, her jaw didn't drop after all, but mostly because fear had disabled all of her muscles.

"Your dad," she squeaked. "Is _Rufus Shinra_?"

"Yep."

Rufus Shinra.

The legendary man was the president of the Shinra Electric Power Company, an influential energy corporation that provided electricity to two continents. His personal fortune numbered in the hundreds of billions and his power rivaled that of small countries. The SEPC even had a licensed private military known as SOLDIER, which was rumored to contain super-soldiers known as First Classes. Naminé actually knew that last for a _fact_.

'Nuff said.

Even Roxas looked shaken by the sight of the renowned businessman. "Frickin' A," the traceur muttered to Xion. "No wonder you never told me and Axel what your real name was!"

Shinra had apparently already spotted his children and their dates, because he motioned for Xion and Sora to come forward.

"Time to meet our old man," Sora murmured. "Stay frosty, Naminé, Roxas. Let us do the talking, okay?"

"Got it," Roxas said coolly. Naminé wished she had his cool; she felt a drop of cold sweat slide down her back.

"Sora!" Shinra called. "Xion!"

One of the suit-clad bodyguards stepped forward and adjusted a small dial on his sunglasses.

"They're clean," he rumbled, before respectfully moving back.

The four stepped forward.

"Father," the two siblings said in unison. Sora and Roxas bowed while Naminé and Xion curtsied.

"Who are these two?" Shinra asked in an imperious voice. His accent had a slight Oxford lilt.

"Roxas Takahashi and Naminé Miyamoto, sir," Xion answered, indicating who was who with two sweeps of her arm.

"The son of Lieutenant General Ansem Takahashi of the Marine Corps and the daughter of a former SOLDIER First-class?" Shinra said, nodding. "Impressive, my children."

"We are most grateful, Father," Sora said.

"As you should be," Shinra snorted. Then the eminent businessman waved his arm. "You are dismissed."

Naminé started to leave, eager to flee from the rather intimidating miasma of Shinra, but Sora's arm held her fast. The brunette only loosened his grip when Shinra had left with his entourage of bodyguards to a presumably even larger group outside.

When the powerful energy magnate had exited, they all exhaled in relief, except for Naminé. She was still holding her breath, fearful that Shinra would come back in.

"We survived, Naminé," Sora said, shaking the blonde a little. "The coast is clear, you can breathe now…"

The artist glared weakly at him and made to retort, but a shout cut her off.

"Oi, Roxas, Naminé!" Axel hollered, waving at them. Several people next to him flinched from the volume of the yell.

"Why aren't you two partners?" Larxene demanded from the redhead's side.

"Long story," Roxas answered. Then he dragged Xion, Naminé, and Sora by extension towards the two parkourists.

"You look amazing, Larxene," Xion said.

"Thanks, Xion," the blonde traceuse grinned. She was dressed to kill in a strapless, above the knee, figure-hugging fire-red dress that did wonders for her figure but was questionably appropriate for a formal ball. "You and Naminé look amazing, yourselves."

"Thank you," Naminé replied a little enviously. Once again she was in the shadow of another girl and for some reason that didn't sit well with her.

"Naminé especially," Axel chuckled, pretending to ogle the artist. "Roxas is probably checking you out every chance he gets."

The artist felt heat rush all the way up to her forehead.

"Shut up," Roxas snarled, punching Axel in the arm, but the blond traceur was blushing, too. The funny thing was that he _was_—or had been—staring at Naminé.

Hungrily.

"Mentally undressing your girlfriend, Roxas?" Zexion smirked as he walked up. The brunette traceur was clad in a dark green business suit, but he apparently had no date. "I thought you were above that!"

Roxas and Naminé hung their heads in an attempt to conceal their ever-reddening faces even as those around them, barring Zexion, howled with laughter.

"Can we change the subject?" Naminé mumbled. She shivered slightly at the mental image of Roxas slowly slipping her dress off her shoulders—

_Note to self: kill Zexion later._

"Sure," Xion sang with a mischievous smile. "So, Roxas, is Naminé still a virgin? Or have you two already succumbed to your base, primal desires?"

And once again the two blondes turned beet-red as their friends burst into laughter.

"I've a few questions for you perverts," Roxas growled through grinding teeth. "First, Zexion, where's your date?"

Zexion tilted his head towards a group of girls. "She's talking to her friends right now," he said. "Her name's Paine—she's the brunette in the black gown."

"Okay, so you did work up the courage to ask somebody out," Roxas said. "Second, Axel, how in hell did you manage to ask Larxene out without humiliating yourself? Because last I checked, your tongue never works right with her—well, if you catch my drift…"

It was Axel and Larxene's turn to blush and Naminé and Roxas's turns to laugh at the innuendo.

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "So, um, Roxas," the brunette boy began. "Would you like to dance with Naminé? I mean, my father's not here to watch us, and she's your girlfriend…"

"Of course I would," Roxas replied with a small smile. "Now go find Kairi."

"Aye, sir!"

The funny part wasn't when Sora turned light pink at the mention of his former girlfriend. No, it was when the guy _snapped a salute_ and rushed off.

Roxas rolled his eyes before bowing to Naminé. "May I have this dance?" the traceur inquired, his head cocked, a small smile hovering at his lips, and his stunning lapis eyes twinkling.

"But of course," Naminé replied with a smile of her own, extending a bare arm to Roxas. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Larxene leading Axel onto the now rapidly filling dance floor and Zexion bowing to a raven-haired girl. A familiar-looking brown-haired boy was asking Xion for a dance, but was rejected. Ouch.

And then Roxas swept her away.

The first song was at a medium pace—lively and loud, and yet far slower than expected. Dozens of couples twirled on the polished wood dance floor, bursts of monochrome and color from a bird's eye view. Naminé and Roxas were in between the center of the area and its outermost edge.

"Why did we have to learn to dance if Mr. Shinra left before he could see it?" Naminé complained. Her right hand was clasping Roxas's and her left one was around the blond's neck.

"That's a successful businessman for you," the traceur muttered as he and Naminé gently revolved in the currents of humanity flooding the dance floor. His right arm was wrapped around the girl's waist. "They always think that everybody's supposed to attend to their every wish, and that includes wasting our time and energy."

"Well, yeah, but they're used to having their orders followed in the workplace," Naminé pointed out. "That can bleed over into their daily lives."

"True," he admitted. "And what I said probably only applies to the ultra rich—or at the very least Mr. Shinra."

She couldn't argue that point. "True."

"See?" Roxas smirked. Then his tone turned sardonic. "Gee, I wonder what he likes to be called—Lord Shinra? Shinra, King of Electricity? His Majesty Ultimate Supreme President Shinra, Super Businessman Extraordinaire?"

"That last one was so over-the-top," Naminé giggled. "Imagine if he actually does use that one."

"I don't," an amused voice from behind them said. "But I kind of like it anyways."

Both blondes froze in horror. Naminé made a terrified mewling noise.

And then Shinra's voice, or a good imitation thereof, abruptly changed pitch and tenor to a familiar merry tone. "Gotcha."

"AXEL!"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The dance was a lot livelier than one would expect of a stereotypically snooty formal ball. Hundreds of people were talking, laughing, moving all over the place. The spotlights left no corner of the ballroom unlit. The smells of the food and drinks lining every table in sight wafted through the air.

Naminé felt her stomach clench and growl when the aroma of fresh cookies drifted into her nose, and she sheepishly looked at Roxas.

"Can we go get some food?" she asked, embarrassed.

The traceur chuckled. "Sure," he replied, leading her to a laden table.

Sandwiches, steaks, chicken, salads, breads, pastas, sweetmeats of every kind—all were loaded on the clearly already packed tables. Stacks of hundreds of paper plates and plastic utensils were set on either side of the food.

"What're you going to choose?" Roxas asked, picking up a plate and a fork.

She scanned the tables, noting at least five different foods she liked. "Can't decide."

Roxas glanced at a clock mounted above one of the doors. "Well, we've got two hours for you to pick out what you want."

"I was asking you for help."

"How am I supposed to help when I don't know what your favorite food is?"

"Well, what're yours?"

He grinned evilly. "Can't decide."

"Argh!" she huffed, turning away from him and crossing her arms.

He snickered and wrapped his arms around her. "That's the PMS-ing little Naminé I fell for."

"This isn't the kind, sweet little Roxas _I_ fell for," she replied, but she was smiling anyways.

"Little?" he grumbled, burying his face in her hair.

She sighed and closed her eyes. The night, the dance, the swirling colors and swirling lights were getting to her; she was getting drowsy. The sensation of Roxas nuzzling her ear wasn't helping.

"Excuse me, but may I have this dance?"

Naminé's eyes shot open even as Roxas's arms tightened around her waist.

"What?" she said a bit more harshly than she'd intended.

And then her vision cleared and she saw him. It was the brunette boy who had restrained her during the lunch brawl. Now that she had only him to pay attention to, she could see that he had spiky hair, like Sora's, and unnatural golden eyes.

"You!" she snapped. "Why did you come here? And who are you, anyways?"

"I would tell you my name," the boy said coolly. "But your boyfriend here would not believe me if I did."

At the word 'boyfriend', Roxas stepped protectively in front of Naminé.

"Yeah, I'm her _boyfriend_," the traceur said icily. "What are you doing, asking my _girlfriend_ for a dance?"

"That is none of your concern, Mr. Takahashi," the boy responded in a dry, iron-hard voice. It was familiar, but Naminé couldn't quite place it. "I need to talk to Miss Miyamoto and you are in the way."

Roxas stepped forward, anger written all over his features, but then he froze in place like a statue. Literally.

"What did you to him?" Naminé shouted, glaring at the boy. "Turn him back!"

"I will, as soon as you listen to me," the boy said. "My name is Vanitas Durand. I am the guardian spirit of this school."

Before she could react to that tidbit, Vanitas held up a hand. "Do not scorn me; we do not have the time. Come."

"What do you—?"

There was a flash of light and Naminé found herself standing…exactly where she'd been a minute ago, on the dance floor. But it looked different, somehow.

Oh that's right, it was completely empty.

Vanitas's arm snaked around hers and guided her towards a door. Naminé couldn't tell which one, exactly; the ballroom's five walls all looked the same to her.

"What _are_ we doing, exactly?" she muttered as they stepped outside. The crowd was in awe over the just-risen ballroom.

"We are searching for Mr. Sora Shinra and Miss Kairi Heartilly, sixty-one minutes prior," he replied, pulling her in a different direction. "Also, Mr. Seifer Almasy."

Now that answer was unexpected.

"Why are you interfering with their relationship?" Naminé demanded as she sidestepped a smooching couple. "Doesn't a guardian spirit have better things to do than that?"

He turned his head to study her with one of his golden irises.

"My atonement knows no task that is beneath me," Vanitas said coolly. "That includes 'interfering' with a teeny-bopper-class, or whatever the children of this generation refer to it as, romance."

"Atonement—?" But before she could complete the question, she was interrupted.

Again.

"Ah, Kairi!" Seifer called, striding over to her. He was dressed in an immaculate navy blue business suit, although the loud yellow-and-orange checkered tie completely ruined the effect. Amusingly, Beanie-head was still wearing his namesake.

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "I'm not—" she began.

Seifer walked straight through her, like she was a hologram.

"Now _that_ was unexpected," Naminé said in a strangled voice, glancing at Vanitas. "How did that—?"

"I've temporarily converted you to ectoplasm, Miss Miyamoto." The response was so deadpan, so serious, that she had to believe it, whatever it meant. "This will render you undetectable and intangible to all except for Shade Hunters."

"Okay…"

"Now let us follow him."

Vanitas pulled her after Seifer, who was heading presumably to Kairi.

The redhead, a dazzling figure in her red dress, was surrounded by a rather large group of (mostly male) admirers. Then she spotted Seifer and her face instantly changed from flustered (from compliments) and laughing to pinched and fearful.

"What's wrong with her?" Naminé hissed. "And where's Sora?"

"You should already know the answer to both of your queries," Vanitas responded. "We must hurry, Miss Miyamoto—this was the wrong time to come to."

And before Naminé could respond (she was getting cut off a lot, lately), there was another flash of light and she found herself standing—

_Right in front of herself_.

"Oh my GOD—" Naminé jumped back a full foot, phasing through a doppelganger of Xion on a past Roxas's arm. "Holy shit—"

"That reaction is not uncommon," Vanitas remarked, grabbing her arm again and pulling her off. "Now, let us proceed."

They hurried through a throng of people, once again moving towards the door. This time, though, Vanitas abruptly changed direction towards the center of the room.

"Where are we going?" she asked. Vanitas's legs were a blur of motion and Naminé had to jog to keep up or be dragged along the floor.

"To Miss Heartilly and Mr. Almasy, of course," Vanitas said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And it was. Naminé felt rather moronic for having asked the question in the first place.

The first thing she noticed was that Seifer was leading Kairi in a tango (incompetently). The second thing she noticed was that Sora, with an unhappy expression on his face, was watching the two. Kairi didn't look too pleased about her situation, either. The third thing she noticed was that Fuu was dancing with Rai.

"Oh, hell…" Naminé took a step back.

"Yes, Miss Fuujin survived your defeat of her," Vanitas said.

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know we had a fight?"

"Miss Miyamoto, consider this. Did you have any knowledge of martial arts prior to fighting Miss Fuujin?"

Ice blue eyes went wide. She'd heard that ghosts were capable of it, but seeing as she'd never believed in ghosts in the first place…

Well, now she _did_, but that was irrelevant.

"You possessed me!" Naminé cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. Accusing of what, she didn't know and probably had no right to do, but still.

"Correct," Vanitas replied. A small smirk ghosted across his features—the first display of emotion she'd seen out of the boy.

She shuddered involuntarily. She owed her health to Vanitas, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel just a bit violated.

"I apologize for doing so," Vanitas said, shrugging. "But I had no choice at the time. In return I have uploaded combat subroutines within your memory."

"Uploaded _what_ in my memory?" Then she shivered again as something cold caressed her scalp.

"Never mind," he said, releasing her. "Now be quiet and observe."

Naminé turned to face the scene before just in time to lock eyes with Kairi. The blonde jumped, startled, but then she remembered that she was invisible.

She was still getting used to the fact that this was real, that this was happening, and that there really was a ghost standing right next to her.

"So, Kai," Seifer said in a stillborn attempt at a seductive voice. "What do you think about going to my room for some…R&R?"

To Naminé's horror, Kairi actually seemed to give in, nodding dully. What the hell had Seifer done to her?

"What do I do?" she hissed.

"Show her a gesture of confidence," Vanitas replied.

_A gesture of confidence. Hmmm…_

The blonde stepped behind Seifer and gave Kairi a wink and a little wave. The redhead couldn't possibly have seen her (Vanitas had stated he'd rendered Naminé invisible), but her violet eyes widened slightly and she gasped.

"Na—" Kairi snapped her mouth shut just in time and closed her eyes.

And then she pulled her hands out of Seifer's grasp and shoved him away.

"First of all, my name is _Kairi_, not Kai," the redhead said coldly, opening her eyes. "Second of all, I will no longer be your personal fuck toy. If you want me as your girlfriend, then treat me with some _respect_. Bitch."

Seifer's mouth fell open and his face contorted with rage, but Kairi simply turned and strode away from the now clearly irate Beanie-head.

"'Personal fuck toy'?" Naminé repeated in a strangled voice, her ears turning pink. She was horrified. _Disgusted_. "_What_?"

Well, at the very least that explained why Kairi had been pained by the simple act of _walking_…

Naminé couldn't get the image out of her head.

"You would not believe some of the things I have seen during my tenure as a guardian spirit," Vanitas said coolly. "But never mind that now—you must follow Miss Heartilly. Guard her."

And then he vanished and Naminé felt air rush around her skin.

"Great," she muttered, scanning the crowd of a flash of red hair or violet eyes. "Couldn't he have helped me a little?"

"I enjoy watching people struggle," a voice said into her ear. "Call it an idiosyncrasy of mine to not make it too easy."

The blonde huffed in frustration, but set off in the general direction Kairi had left. Who knew? Maybe she'd get lucky and spot the redhead.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Five minutes later she still hadn't found Kairi.

"Where is she?" Naminé mumbled, as the blonde trudged through the crowd. "Stupid Vanitas…"

A flash of motion—red hair, red cloth—

"There!"

Naminé gathered up the hem of her dress and sprinted towards the flash of Kairi she'd seen, ignoring the gasps and murmurs as she rushed past.

She blushed when she heard the first catcall.

And the second.

And the third.

At which point she slowed down to a fast walk.

Upon hearing the fourth, Naminé hung her head to try and conceal her steadily reddening face. She made a mental note never to run in an evening gown ever again.

EVER.

And she mentally groaned as she once again caught sight of Kairi, who was running hand in hand with Sora. To make things worse, Seifer was making a beeline for the two.

"Crap—" Naminé picked up her pace, jogging slightly, but it still wasn't enough. "Come on, come on, come on…!"

She burst out of the crowd just in time to see Sora and Kairi disappear through a door; Seifer was no longer in sight. She grinned and began to head after them—

Someone grabbed her arm and reeled her back in. Naminé yelped as she stumbled, trying to keep her balance, and failed miserably—and smacked her face into someone else's.

But there was no pain, only the sensation of lips against hers, a hand curled around her cheek, and an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

It was almost exactly like how Roxas kissed her—except her favorite traceur had lapis eyes, not cobalt.

Naminé broke free and slapped the clearly flustered boy as hard as she could.

"What the _hell_!" she shouted, blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—" The brown-haired boy's complexion had become bright red as well and he began to back away. "I—I don't know what—"

The blonde about-faced and rushed for the door Sora and Kairi had left through, but stopped when she heard a shout from a familiar voice.

"Naminé!"

The artist whirled around to see Roxas running after her. The traceur looked extremely angry—unsurprising, considering what Naminé had just done.

She was torn—on the one hand, she could just continue the chase and ignore Roxas—risking a fight with her boyfriend—and on the other, she could try to explain herself to him as fast as she could, but risk Seifer getting to Kairi before her.

Roxas slowed as he neared her. Well, that choice was made.

"Naminé, what were you _doing_?" He sounded hurt. Confused. A bit angry.

How could she blame him?

"Roxas, I'm sorry—it was an _accident_." Naminé regretted saying that the moment it came out of her mouth.

"An accident? I just saw my girlfriend kiss another guy! What am I supposed to think when I see that?" Now Roxas looked distraught. He took another step forward. "Where did I go wrong?"

It felt like somebody was sticking daggers into her heart when he said that.

"You didn't," Naminé said. "Roxas, that guy just pulled me in! I wasn't expecting it!"

"You still looked like you enjoyed it." His eyes, those wonderful, formerly lively lapis orbs, narrowed.

"I thought it was you!"

And as if the universe was taunting her, Naminé spotted Seifer heading for the door Sora and Kairi had left through. "Oh, crap…"

"Excuse me?"

Naminé gritted her teeth. "Look, Roxas, I—I'll explain later, okay?" she said in a pleading tone, glancing from his eyes to the door and back again. "I need to do something right now!"

"You have to do what?" Roxas demanded, stepping closer. She took a step back.

Seifer disappeared through the door.

"I'll explain later, okay?" she said desperately, before sprinting away.

"Naminé, wait—"

"I have to _go_!"

But as she burst through the door, the eerie similarity of what she'd said to Roxas to what Kairi had said to Sora wasn't lost on Naminé.

As was the upset expression on Roxas's handsome face.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

She cursed Vanitas with every step. ADBS was huge; there was no telling where Sora and Kairi might be, and beyond that there was another one prowling the massive lawn.

Seifer.

There was no telling what the bastard might do to Kairi. Naminé would expect any normal person to act according to school rules, but Seifer acted like he was above the law. If he somehow was, then she wasn't sure how she'd protect Kairi.

Why, why, why had she not asked Roxas for help? It wasn't like her boyfriend would've declined, right?

"No use crying over spilt milk, I guess," she mumbled as she jogged along the lawn (her dress was a lost cause and she'd stopped worrying about the damage to it), nervously looking around her. "Man, but the outside is creepy at night…"

She'd already checked the area around the ballroom and around the towers, as obvious as they were. Then she'd scanned the expansive, but flat lawns.

There was really only one logical place left where the two might be.

The blonde reached the edge of the calisthenics field and took a moment to catch her breath, before looking over the edge.

"There you are…"

Naminé spotted a flash of glittering scarlet in the wan moonlight—Kairi's hair, fanning out as Sora spun her in a tango. The blonde moved as fast as she could down the steps, but carefully as well. Her tripping wouldn't help anyone.

This was a lucky break, and that in itself was very, very bad. Finding Sora and Kairi this quickly, when Seifer had had a head start no less, was very fluky, and Naminé wouldn't have much luck left to deal with the inevitable argument with Roxas.

Sora saw her first.

"Naminé!" he cried in shock, instinctively hugging Kairi close to him. "What're you—"

"Seifer's on the warpath," the artist said tersely. "He's coming for Kairi, you guys have to _run_!"

"How did you know we were here?" Kairi asked, shrugging Sora's arm off her shoulder. The redhead's eyes narrowed in clear suspicion.

"I saw you leave," Naminé lied. "And apparently, so did Seifer."

A quick glance around confirmed that the bastard hadn't found them, yet.

And then she saw a familiar blue beanie poking over the top edge of the bleachers.

"Uh-oh," Naminé muttered, backing up, herding Sora behind her, who herded Kairi behind _him_. "Stay back…"

Seifer took his time swaggering down the stairs; he thought that there was no escape for them, that the almighty Beanie-head had them trapped.

Key-word: _thought_.

"So, Porcupine," Almasy drawled, leaning an arm on a handrail. "Messing with my girl, are you?"

"When he gets closer, run to the other end of the field and the other staircase," Naminé whispered in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. "Okay?"

Kairi nodded. Sora just shivered in fear.

"Alright then," Naminé said, taking a deep, calming breath for what she was about to do.

"Oh, you player you," Seifer continued, grinning widely. "Two hot chicks? Oh, my…"

"Look who's talking!" Naminé shouted, clenching her fists. "Roxas tossed you around like you were me!"

She knew that was lame but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

"Oh, so the new girl has a mouth," Almasy smirked. "But…"

And Naminé squeaked in fear and took a hasty step back as Seifer swung over the rail in what was quite clearly a parkour technique and landed in a crouch. There went her one advantage.

"Roxas isn't here to save you this time around." Seifer leisurely got up and began walking towards the three.

"Run," Naminé ordered.

But Sora and Kairi were frozen in horror, clutching each other.

"What're you doing, run!" she hissed, glancing at the two.

And miraculously they did, bolting for the far end of the field.

Unfortunately that glance took her eyes off Seifer for a moment, and when she looked back he was less than ten feet from her and sprinting.

Naminé dove out of the way just in time, rolling into a crouch. She got up and slowly backed away as Seifer stopped and turned to face her.

"You're really annoying, you know that, Miyamoto?" Almasy sighed, scraping at the grass with his shoe.

And then he rushed her again, but this time Naminé evaded without tumbling and ran for the bleachers, backing into the raised concrete assembly.

Fuck. She was trapped.

"Also very stupid," Seifer chuckled, pointing at the stairs. "Hello? Stairs? Or are you just a dumb blonde?"

She shrank back into the bleachers, ice blue eyes widening in terror. She tried to scream. Found her throat was dry with terror. Found her muscles refused to budge.

"I think I'm gonna have some fun with you first," he smirked, closing until he was towering over her. He was over a head above her, maybe even taller than Roxas.

Why was she being fearful? Naminé gathered her courage and took a breath.

"Go away, Seifer," she said shakily.

He just chuckled menacingly. "Right. Like I'd leave a pretty girl like you out here all _alone_…"

She shuddered at the implications of _that_, but she stood straight nevertheless.

"I said, go away—"

His hand shot out and clamped around her delicate throat. Naminé gagged and clutched at her neck even as she was lifted a foot off the ground.

Seifer brought his nose to within kissing distance of hers. "I don't think so," he breathed, and then she let out a muffled cry as his fist rose up to her face—

A foot flashed out, the oppressive force crushing Naminé's throat abruptly disappeared, and Almasy staggered back, clutching at the new bruise on his jaw.

Roxas Takahashi jumped down from the bleacher balcony like a guardian angel and protectively stepped in front of Naminé, his cold eyes blazing with homicidal lapis fire.

"Get the _fuck_ away from my girlfriend, Beanie," he snarled, clenching his fists. "Unless you want a fate _worse_ than getting _raped_ up the _ass_…"

Almasy took one look at the enraged traceur's murderous expression and promptly fled, tripping over his own feet in his frantic desire to get away alive.

Once the other guy was gone, Roxas turned around to look at Naminé, relief and worry but most of all _fear_ etching his handsome features.

"Naminé," he whispered, taking a step forward—

She flew into his arms and buried her face in his chest, crying and shuddering uncontrollably. He was crying, too, even as he hugged her to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—" The rest of Naminé's apology dissolved into sobbing and hiccups.

Roxas cupped her cheek with a gentle hand and tilted her head up so that she could look up into his eyes.

"It's okay, Naminé," he murmured, smiling reassuringly through his own tears. "It's okay, I'm here now, you're safe…"

"But—but—but—why'd y-you s-s-save m-me?" she choked, still shaking. "I—I k-kissed a-another g-g-g—"

She couldn't get it out, no matter how hard she tried.

"Shhh…" Roxas smoothed back her bangs and gently kissed her on the lips; when he disengaged she wasn't shivering _quite_ so badly…

Just a minute ago, she'd been reassuring Sora and Kairi. Naminé found the comforting humor of the irony, clutched onto it, refused to let go lest she lose it too.

He must've misinterpreted her slight smile as recovery, because he let go. It felt as if liquid nitrogen was clouding up around Naminé when he did so.

"That guy came up to me and apologized to me. He explained everything—he said that you did it without your consent," Roxas explained, sheepishly scratching his dark blond spikes. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding, Naminé…"

She didn't fucking _care_ about an apology, she just wanted to feel his sturdy, indomitable arms around her again. Roxas had nothing to be sorry about anyways.

Apparently he (again) misinterpreted her silence as anger, because he winced.

"I know you're angry at me, Naminé," he muttered. "And I know I hurt you and I know I might never make up for it…"

She wanted to shout in his ear as loudly was biologically possible and then some that he'd done _nothing wrong_, but the goddamned fear was settling in again and crushing down on her throat.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, tearing up. He choked. "I'm—I'm so sorry…"

And then he walked away.

"Come back," she said in a strangled voice, sinking to the grass. "Roxas, come back, _please_…"

But he didn't.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

DON'T KILL ME.

I really hope I got the emotion right in this scene (also the rest of the chapter). *sweat-drops* And if I did and you react badly, please don't kill me. If you do I won't be able to fix this, right? *laughs nervously*

The cumulative credits, Arcs 1-2:

**Kairi Granger**

**Komuro**

**Smileydomino**

**Riceball793**

**Puppylove98162**

**Bittersweet Apathy**

**Midnight-heart**

**-thatROXASlover-**

**DeadlyxMoogle**

**Meandor711**

**xXanimefoolXx**

**Alphakoka**

**Wrath lover**

**Runix56**

**Maxeyn**

**YourName23**

**Truth-Unspoken**

**Goddess of Discord and Heaven**

**King of hope**

**XShiori-chanX**

**One Sky-One Dream-One Destiny**

**CielDenali**

**XLeftOnTheLineX**

**Poohbearlover95**

Thank you. Thank you all.

All of you are equally special to me, because you took the time to comment on and rate my chapters. It's because of your faith that my writing's improved (if only slightly). It's because of your encouragement that I now wouldn't think of deleting "Jump". It's because of your willingness to read some crazy boy's fanfic that I'm willing to write.

You all may have heard this speech before, but like all the other authors, it's straight from my heart and soul.

Thank you all, again.

~SB~out~

PS: Those of you whose stories I'm reading, UPDATE. You know who you are.


	20. Traceur, MIA

Over _100_ frakking reviews. You have no idea how much your guys' support means to me, and _only_ because you can't read my mind. Thank you thank you _thank you_.

BTW: Yes, I got the idea of Rufus Shinra as a daddy from **XShiori-chanX**'s "Cheesecake Topped with Gummy Bears".

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!

The broken girl curled up on the bed clutched her sheets a little tighter, crying her heart out into the soft cloth as pale as her bare skin.

She'd called for him, _screamed_ for him when he'd left.

But he hadn't heard.

Maybe she shouldn't have helped Sora and Kairi. She should've just left them at Seifer's mercy; if she did she might be with him right now—laughing, talking, reveling in their love. After all, she'd really had no reason to help them.

She hated herself a little bit more when she thought that.

There was a knock at the door and Naminé shifted up, glaring through tear-blurred vision at whoever was behind it.

"What?"

The door creaked open, revealing Xion, still clad in her dark gown. "Can I come in?" the brunette asked timidly.

"Yeah, whatever," Naminé mumbled, burying her head back into the sheets.

There was a noise of rustling cloth as her roommate slipped out of her dress and into more casual pajamas. Footsteps padded across the carpet and halted off to her left.

"You're naked," Xion said disapprovingly, placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't care."

Xion sighed and sat down on the edge of the cot. The traceuse placed her hands in her lap, looked at Naminé, but the blonde's face was obscured by matted flaxen locks.

"What happened?" Xion inquired.

Naminé did not respond.

The brunette sighed and moved a hand to brush her friend's tear-sodden bangs out of her eyes. Cobalt irises met ice-blue ones. "Naminé, just tell me. Or I can ask Roxas."

At the mention of the blond traceur, Naminé began crying even harder.

"Did he cheat on you?"

The blonde sat up, fury lighting up her eyes at the very _thought_ of that. Xion immediately scooted away. "Okay, forget I ever said that. But seriously, what happened?"

She might as well tell her now that she's been incited.

"I k-kissed a-a-another g-guy," Naminé gasped through a fit of sobs. "He s-should've b-been m-mad at me. W-Why wasn't h-he?"

But that wasn't the real reason.

"He wasn't mad at you because he trusts you, Naminé," Xion said gently, cupping the artist's cheek with her hand. "Hell, he _loves_ you—in fact, you're the first person to have _ever_ made him feel that way towards a girl."

That made Naminé feel marginally better—and then her momentary respite from all the grief and fear and self-pity crashed down all around her the moment she remembered him walking away from her.

"Now, care to tell me the _real_ reason you're PMSing?" Xion asked with a don't-even-think-about-lying look on her face.

"Seifer," she said, drawing her knees to her chest.

The expression on Xion's face told Naminé that the brunette did _not_ require further elaboration on that particular moment.

"What happened next?"

"Roxas saved me, but then he walked away. Why…why did he do that?" Naminé murmured, drawing her knees up to her chest.

Xion sighed again and clapped her friend on the shoulder. "Well, don't be emo and mope about it," Xion advised. She smiled comfortingly. "I bet he'll come begging for forgiveness tomorrow, ASAP."

"How do you know?" the blonde muttered. But at least the tears had stopped.

"Because I know that Roxas isn't the kind of guy who leaves a girl hanging," Xion declared.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The brunette either was dead wrong, _this_ time, or didn't know Roxas all that well in the first place, because a certain blond traceur was nowhere to be found in English the next morning.

Naminé had waited and waited and waited but the familiar dark blond spikes never popped through the window, the mischievous lapis irises never gazed tenderly into her own ice-blues.

The whispers started when the bell rang and still Roxas did not come, jeering into her ear that 'maybe he broke up with her' or 'maybe he's out with another girl' or whatever drivel the gossips had come up with this time.

Or at least she hoped it was drivel.

"Where are you?" Naminé mumbled into her arms.

Ms. Lockhart started roll call. When she got to his name…

"Takahashi, Roxas."

Silence.

"Takahashi, Roxas."

Silence.

"_Takahashi_, _Roxas_."

When nobody responded for the third time, Ms. Lockhart finally looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Miyamoto, do you know where Mr. Takahashi is?" she asked.

"No." Namine did her best to hold back tears.

"Okay..."

Ms. Lockhart scribbled something on her clipboard. The rest of the names passed uneventfully.

And then the lecture began, with no Roxas to play with her hair or poke her or banter with her like he usually did.

"Where are you?" she said again, but this time a tear accompanied her words.

He wasn't at Trigonometry, either, when second period's late bell chimed.

Naminé plopped her messenger bag down on her desk and just stood next to her seat, not sitting down.

Mr. Leonhart looked up. "Miss Miyamoto, please sit down."

She did, mechanically.

And slammed her face into the burlap, not crying, not dry sobbing, just mashing her nose against the cloth in a vain attempt to forget about the pain with more pain. She decided that she hated not knowing most of all; the simple fact that where the hell Roxas might be was information not privy to her was, to her, like one of those nightmares where you were chased by a monster you couldn't see, you couldn't hear, you couldn't sense, only that it was chasing you and you just _didn't fucking know what it was_.

She hated nightmares.

But seriously, she thought, she had to know where he was. Was he gone? Did he move? If so, then where?

One corner of her mouth curled into a contemptuous smirk. She was turning into one of those obsessive, clingy girlfriends who absolutely had to know where their men were 24/7. Roxas could take care of himself; he was probably just out cutting class with the parkourists.

Her smirk changed into a playful pout as she realized if so, then he was cutting her out of the fun. How dare him, ha-ha.

_Xion told me not to be emo about this. I won't. Can't._

A gentle _a-hem_ drew Naminé out of her reverie. She raised her head, prepared to deflect any queries Mr. Leonhart was having about her attention to his frankly rather lively lecture (the guy loved his math)—before she realized that the cough had come from her left side.

Specifically, the _boy_ on her left side.

Specifically, the _boy_ who had kissed her last night _without her consent_.

"What do you want?" she hissed crossly, glaring pointedly at his mouth as if it was going to try to kill her. She wasn't angry at him, explicitly, but she _was_ wary of another attempt at a smooch.

"I just wanted to apologize about last night," the brown-haired boy said, scratching his hair. "I shouldn't have done what I did."

Naminé's anger deflated. "Oh," she mumbled. "Well, it's okay—my boyfriend said you explained everything to him."

"You're not mad at me?"

"I'm not mad _anymore_," she sighed, resting her head on her arms. "I…I'm just…afraid you're going to try to pull a stunt like that again."

He chuckled. "And risk setting off Roxas Takahashi? No thanks, Miss."

"My name is Naminé."

"Okay, Miss Naminé, if you gave me your name, then I should probably give you mine," he replied, leaning back. "I'm Terra. Nice to meet you, Naminé."

"Isn't Terra a girl's name?" Naminé wondered aloud, and then she realized her mistake. "Oh, I-I'm sorry—it's nice to meet you too."

Terra actually looked more amused than offended. "Yeah, it's a girl's name," he smirked, rolling his eyes. "But it's Latin for earth, which is a _tough-ass_ ancient element. _Terra_—it's strong, it's got a nice ring, and really—I like it. It's my _name_, after all."

Strong, has a nice ring, she likes it.

Just like _Roxas_.

Naminé nodded and smiled slightly before pulling a notebook out of her bag.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Everybody was at the table—Axel, Larxene, Zexion, Xion, and a fidgety, rather effeminate-looking man with long blond hair.

"Hey, guys," Naminé said, taking her usual seat. "Who's new?"

"Excuse me?" the man snapped, glaring at her. "New? Look who's talking, you insolent whippersnapper! Who are _you_, anyways?"

As the man continued ranting about 'impertinent youngsters' and 'such disrespect towards an elder citizen' and shaking his head sadly at the 'death of filial piety' and how in the 'old days' he'd have used the belt 'n birch on her and whatnot, Xion leaned over to the wide-eyed Naminé.

"This is Vexen," the brunette explained. "You might not want to piss him off, Naminé—he's got quite a temper."

"You can bet your miserable hide I do, Number XIV!" Vexen barked, pointing an accusing finger at the two girls. "And who is this blonde girl, anyways?"

"She's Naminé," Xion replied without looking at him.

"What does he mean by 'Number XIV'?" Naminé asked.

Larxene raised an eyebrow. "Hello? Have you forgotten already?" the traceuse said. "We're all a part of the XIII."

"Yeah, I know that already, but you're not really telling me anything much besides that," Naminé replied.

"We all have numbers according to the time we joined in the XIII," Axel muttered. The redhead was haggard and his hair was disheveled. "Vexen's—"

"That would be Number IV, Number VIII!"

"—OCD about using our numbers to refer to each other. None of us do that anymore, though," Axel finished, rubbing his bleary green eyes. "Gah, so freaking tired…"

"If you had chosen not to go to Xigbar's run last night, you wouldn't be," Zexion replied. The brunette traceur, on the other hand, was immaculate.

Naminé remembered the friendly, eyepatched wisecracker and smiled a bit at the memory.

Vexen wrinkled his nose at the mention of Xigbar. "You mean that clown Number II?" he sniffed. "He's nothing but an overrated buffoon. What does the Superior see in him, anyways? I would be a much better Number II than…than…_Number II_!"

"He's second-in-command because he's courteous, competent, and generally pleasant to have around, old man," Zexion sighed, rubbing his temples. "You, on the other hand, are _loud_, _bitchy_, and generally _exasperating_ as _hell_."

"WHAAAT!" Vexen roared in a comically shrill voice. "How _dare_ you disrespect _me_, Number _VI_?"

"How can I when you have no prestige to speak of, old man?"

As Vexen and Zexion began verbally dueling (with the junior as the foregone winner), Naminé turned to the other three at the table. She tried to think up something to talk about and came up with several things, but she decided not to talk about the XIII in the meantime.

"So, Axel, Larxene, are you two a couple now?" the artist asked, folding her hands in her lap.

Larxene snorted derisively, but Naminé noted that the traceuse had surreptitiously glanced at Axel. "After one date? Yeah, right."

"Come on, baby," Axel grinned, wrapping an arm around the voluptuous blonde's waist. "You know you want me…"

"I wouldn't want you if you were the last man on earth," Larxene said airily, shoving the traceur away. "Even _Roxas_ would an acceptable alternative to _you_."

Silence.

Then Xion's laugh cut through the air. "Ooh, _burn_, Axel!" the brunette traceuse cackled. "You totally suck with girls! 'Even Roxas'? _Burn_!"

Axel grabbed the brunette in a headlock and not very gently ground his knuckles across her scalp. "Say again, Xion?" the redhead asked in a pleasant tone, but his eyes had a dangerous glint to them.

The traceuse struggled in Axel's iron grip, beating his chest and arms with no effect. "Let go of me, you big monkey!"

"Say the magic word."

"Fuck you! Let go!"

"Fuck me? Sorry, Xion, but I prefer girls who can actually punch worth a damn."

Xion drove her fist into Axel's stomach, causing the traceur to double over and release her.

"How's that for a 'punch worth a damn', huh?"

Larxene smacked both of them across the head. "You guys!" she snapped. "Cut it out!"

"What _for_—"

"_Naminé_, you idiots! Look at her! You too, Vexen, Zexion!"

Both of them quieted as they saw the expression on the artist's tear-streaked face. Vexen and Zexion stopped their argument and turned to see why Larxene had seen fit to silence their bickering. They, too, quieted as soon as they saw the pathetic look on her face.

She'd tried so hard to put him out of her mind, tried so hard to play off his being missing as him out _there_ having fun with his friends.

But all his and her friends were _here_, with her. Only he wasn't.

All of the grief, all of the fear, all of the self-pity came back, but magnified by the way she had tried so hard to bottle them up and shove them somewhere where they couldn't reach her.

Until now.

"Where is he?" Naminé choked, clenching her fists. "Where did Roxas go? Why is he missing?"

Axel traded nervous glances with Larxene.

Vexen and Zexion cast their eyes to their feet.

Xion opened her mouth, then closed it.

Nobody answered.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Yes, Roxas going missing is a reference to the plot of "Shine", but Roku's reasons this time are different. I think.

I could've ended it here, but I decided not to because I'm not enough of a cruel bastard. ^^

Vanitas: Or was it because the readers might've tried to kill you?

That too.

Namine: Review, please. *sobs* Or I'll never get Roxas back...


	21. Overprotective Big Brothers

Some long belated credits to **poohbearlover95**, the 100th reviewer. Your review made my day when the alert arrived. ^^ Thankies!

Because I screwed with Naminé's emotions so badly last chapter, I decided to make it up to her in this one. A new major character is about to be introduced! ^^

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Saturdays were generally supposed to be quiet and peaceful at Arthur Durand.

But.

"I don't recall a crowd of girls that big on the lawn this morning."

"Nobody's usually up this early except Sixth Floor, Naminé."

"I also don't remember there being a constant 'squee' noise loud enough that we're yelling at each other just to hear each other."

"Well, you have a point there…"

"So, what exactly _is_ going on?" Naminé said.

"How should I know?" Xion replied, brushing a strand of jaw-length raven hair behind her ear. "Contrary to your expectations, I'm not exactly on top of all comings and goings at ADBS."

Two girls rushed past the two juniors, screaming something about 'a new student' and 'so hot'.

"Well, we have our answer," Xion declared. "C'mon, let's go check out the new guy."

The artist didn't move. "I've already got Roxas." But for Naminé, just saying the traceur's _name_ hurt—if not as badly as five days ago.

Five days of Roxas not appearing in any of her classes.

Five days of futile waiting for him too.

Five days of trying to force down her emotions, stop crying, and pay attention in class.

Five days of...

_Don't be emo. Don't be emo. Don't be emo._

She blinked back tears and forced away her reverie.

"He's gone right now, isn't he?" the traceuse said, trotting towards the crowd. "Admit it, you're interested in what's gathered that big of an estrogen brigade. I know _I_ am."

Naminé sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine…" she mumbled, following her roommate.

It was tough going getting through the crowd, which in some places was ten girls thick, but the two (admittedly below average height) juniors managed to force their way through. After a second Naminé realized that the crowd was moving—either the guy at its center was attempting to escape getting crushed to death by the horde of fangirls, or said horde was herding the guy somewhere.

That last sounded more than just a little disturbing.

"Who is this guy anyways?" she muttered, weaving between a pair of seniors.

Just a trio of juniors to go…

The artist slipped past the first, leaped between the other two, and landed in a parkour crouch at the center of the crowd, then looked up—

Her ice-blue eyes popped open and she squealed in delight.

"Riku!"

The tall, green-eyed, extremely handsome boy with shoulder-length platinum blond hair, who was currently attempting to pry a particularly determined sophomore girl off his chest, whipped around at the mention of his name.

"Yeah, that's—Naminé!" the boy shouted gleefully, grabbing the blonde in a fierce hug and spinning her around. "How are you?"

"Great," the blonde grinned, burying her face in Riku's shoulder.

Xion trotted up, her hands on her hips. "Amazing, Naminé," the brunette said, grinning and shaking her head. "You've got not one, but _two_ ultra-hot guys at your beck and call? What's your secret?"

Riku's expression instantly morphed from sunny to stormy. "Who's this other guy I hear of?" he growled, glaring at the blonde next to him.

"Mom and Dad didn't tell you?" Naminé asked, raising an eyebrow. Rather strange; even Ventus had heard about Roxas…

"No."

"Well, I've got a…a boyfriend now," she mumbled, forcing back the emotions surging to her heart. "His…his name is Roxas…"

"Wait, wait, wait…" A girl from the crowd stepped forth, her eyes glaring daggers at Naminé. "What's a hunk like you have to do with Miyamoto, exactly? Are you in a relationship with her?"

Murmurs of, "that slut," and, "what a whore," drifted out of the crowd.

However, Riku and Naminé's faces were locked in wide-eyed, openmouthed horror.

"What…?" the blonde girl whispered, forcing down her bile. "That's…that's _disgusting_."

"Are you kidding me?" Riku said in an incredulous tone. "Ew. Just…ew. Naminé's my little sister! _Where_ the _fuck_ did you get the idea that I might be in a _relationship_ with my _little sister_?"

Silence.

"So…you're not taken?" The multi-track voice effect that came from the entire crowd reminded Naminé of the Borg from Ryo's old _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ DVDs.

More silence.

"ACTUALLY," Riku said, smiling way too widely. He strode over to Xion and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against him. She squeaked and turned bright red. "Will you go out with me, Miss…?"

"Xion," the traceuse mumbled, knitting her fingers together. "And yes, I-I-I'd l-love to g-go out w-with you, M-Mr. Riku."

A collective groan of disappointment erupted from the crowd and the (approximately) two hundred girls surrounding the three slowly broke apart into individual groups.

Riku let out a sigh of relief and released Xion, who stumbled away. Naminé poked her brother's arm hard enough to elicit a flinch from the elder Miyamoto.

"What the hell was that?" the blonde hissed, glaring at Riku.

"I could ask you the same thing," Riku growled, rubbing the new bruise on his arm. "Since when did you get strong enough to be able to actually _hurt_ someone?"

Naminé ignored the jab and furiously stamped her foot. "Why'd you ask my best friend out?" she snapped. "You know you can't deliver on that!"

"How do you know I can't?" Riku sniffed, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag slightly.

"Because—because—because…because…" Naminé slumped in defeat. Her brother had a point; not once had he ever shown he was capable of actually hurting a girl.

Well, there was that one time where he threw her down the stairs when she accidentally spilled orange juice on his hair…

He wouldn't hurt a girl's _heart_, then. Not like…

"Besides," he grinned, eyeing Xion's legs and licking his lips. "I wasn't serious about that date; I'm not interested in your friend at all."

Xion began nervously rocking back and forth on her heels.

"…right," Naminé said. She was completely unconvinced. "Riku, what's your schedule? And where're Mom and Dad?"

"Mom asked Uncle Eraqus to drive me here," Riku replied, fishing a slip of paper out of his bag. "And my schedule is English with Lockhart first, Trig with Leonhart second, Art with Gainsborough third, and Shop with Wallace last."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "That's _my_ schedule."

"What a coincidence," Riku said, scratching his head. "You think we were put together because we're siblings?"

"Maybe," she frowned. "That doesn't really explain why well _enough_, though."

Could Vanitas have had something to do with this? Possibly, but there wasn't really anything the guardian spirit could fix with a pair of siblings' schedules.

Xion clasped her hands behind her back. Naminé rolled her eyes when she noticed that Riku was staring at the brunette's chest.

"I think that your having the same schedule is too _much_ of a coincidence," Xion said. She sighed and looked up at the sky. "Ever get the feeling that somebody's writing up our daily lives like…like…like some writer or something?"

They stared at each other for a second—then burst into laughter.

"Good one, Xion."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"So what're these teachers like?" Riku asked.

"Well…" Naminé stroked her chin as her mind worked to put together appropriate descriptions of her four teachers.

Xion had returned to Dorm 126, but Naminé was giving Riku a tour of the campus like Sora and his sister had when she came to ADBS. She remembered—that was the day she met Roxas…

"Ms. Lockhart and Mr. Leonhart are both kind of strict, but they're great teachers and they're fair to the students, too," she said. "Ms Gainsborough is really nice, but heaven help you if you screw around in her class. Mr. Wallace is ex-military and he seems like a mean old drill sergeant, but he's also fair to his students."

"They sound good to me," Riku remarked. He gave his sister a piercing look. "Now, tell me more about this Roxas boy."

"He's just as old as you, Riku boy."

"He's dating my baby sister and it's my responsibility as an older brother to judge him."

The younger Miyamoto glared at her brother. "Dad already put him through the meat grinder," she retorted. "And he approved of Roxas. So _there_."

"But I haven't," Riku replied. "And I have a feeling I won't."

"Roxas is a sweet, kind, and caring person," Naminé said a touch angrily. "Don't you _dare_ say anything bad about him."

Riku defensively held up his hands. "I wasn't going to."

"Good."

"Has he slept with you…?"

The blonde recoiled at that image. To be honest, she had to admit it was one she kind of liked, but still...

"What? No!"

"Good, because I'd have ripped his balls off if he had," Riku said coolly. "Now, what does he look like?"

Naminé might've called Riku a sadistic bastard if A) she didn't know better and B) he just plain didn't know what he was doing to his sister by asking her these questions about Roxas, so she swallowed her desire to take her pain out on her brother.

"He's got dark blond hair done up in spikes," she recalled. Memories of Roxas before seemed to help a bit with the ache in that part of her heart. "And he has just these amazing, beautiful blue eyes, and this deep, kind of raspy voice that just draws you in, and his arms are so strong and warm and you feel like nothing can hurt you when he hugs you…"

Her brother chuckled. "How hard did you fall for him?"

The artist blushed. "_Way_ too hard for my own good," she mumbled. She smiled a bit. "But he caught me…did I mention how being hugged by him feels?"

"Yes," Riku snorted in an amused tone.

She opened her mouth to speak further, but an unpleasantly familiar (to say the least) smug, condescending, contemptible voice interrupted her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Don't you already have that rebel of yours, Miyamoto? Or have you two broken up already?"

Naminé gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then she turned around, hoping…hoping…

Seifer, Rai, and Fuu were walking towards her and Riku. Fuu seemed distinctly reluctant to approach, but Rai was gently coaxing her on, every so often shooting an angry and confused look at Naminé. Beanie-head just had that usual self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Can't you just leave me alone, Almasy?" she groaned. "And for your information, this is my brother."

Almasy pretended to do a double take. "Incest? Seriously?" he asked in a mocking voice. "I've never found you to be that desperate, Miyamoto."

She narrowed her eyes and made to fire back a cutting remark about his manhood around Roxas, but her brother set a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Who the hell are you, anyways?" Riku asked coolly. "And what're you doing insulting my sister?"

"I'm a person who's better than you," Seifer replied equally as coolly. "And I don't really give a damn about your opinion on my treatment of your sister."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why don't you order away your lackeys and tell me that again to my face?"

Seifer's smirk was unchanged. "Because unlike other people, I actually use tactics in a fight," he said, and then he nodded at Rai.

The tall, dark-skinned boy dove at Riku, knocking Naminé's brother to the ground. The elder Miyamoto almost immediately took the advantage, rolling over and smashing punches into Rai's face without mercy, but then Fuu jumped him as well.

"Well, why don't we finish what we began on the Formal, hmm?" Seifer said, looking at Naminé.

She swallowed at the memory, but she gathered her courage and looked at him straight in the eye. "When Roxas gets here, you're dead, Almasy."

Beanie-head just grinned widely. "But he's not here, is he?" he cooed, taking a step forward.

Naminé found herself involuntarily taking a step back. "He _will_ be," she said bravely, but she felt a tiny twinge of nervousness. What if he wasn't…?

"Oh, really?" Seifer said, taking another step—

And then a rock clunked into the side of his head, making Almasy stumble back with a cry of pain and shock. Both he and Naminé whirled around to see…

"Roxas!"

The traceur glared at Seifer, a vicious look on his face, and drew a finger across his throat. The body language was crystal clear.

_You touch her, I kill you. Capeesh?_

"Told you," Naminé said, crossing her arms. "You better run, Beanie."

Seifer's face was a mix of fury and rage and fear. He glanced once at Naminé, then back at Roxas, and then he ran for it. As their leader fled, Rai and Fuu abandoned their brawl with Riku and followed.

But Naminé wasn't paying attention to them anymore.

"Roxas," she breathed, stepping towards him. One step turned to two, to three, and then she was flat-out sprinting towards him. "Roxas! _Roxas_!"

He flashed a loving smile at her, and for a moment it seemed like they were reunited, like she could knock him to the ground and hug him blue…but his expression changed to guilt just as quickly, and he ran in the opposite direction too fast for her to catch him. Naminé slowed, already knowing he was too fast, too far away, too painful to simply think about, _again_.

_Don't be sad…don't be sad…don't be sad…_

She hadn't even run a hundred steps, but she felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if Seifer was still strangling her against the bleachers…

_Don't be sad…don't be sad…DON'T BE SAD…_

"I'm guessing that was Roxas?" Riku asked hesitantly, walking up from behind her. Her brother was a little scuffed up, but other than that he seemed fine.

"Y-Yes…" Naminé choked, and then she burst into tears.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

ARGH. I FAIL. *begins slamming head against desk*

I know I should've updated yesterday; I apologize for not doing so. ARGH.

And now for the usual shamelessly blatant request for reviews. :D

Review, please!


	22. A Night's Comfort

I had much fun writing the first part of this chapter. Got to let your inner crazy loose every once in a while, no?

Note: The word "mook" is jargon for random disposable minor enemy soldier.

Warning: Major violence in this chapter. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Xion, what's Thanksgiving?" Naminé asked, staring at the cafeteria bulletin board. "I've never heard of it."

"Apparently, it's some American holiday commemorating the _Mayflower_ colonists' survival and alliance with the Native American Powhatan tribe," Xion replied without even looking up from her porridge. "At least, that's what Kairi once told me. I personally have no idea."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so if it's an American holiday, why are we having a weeklong break for it?"

"Some headmaster went to America and decided he liked the concept of Thanksgiving," Sora answered through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "So now we get the third week of November off; most of the other students are probably going to go back home."

Well, that explained why the usually crowded cafeteria had less than a quarter of its normal occupants. Even Zexion and Larxene were missing, and they'd been the regulars at the table for whenever Axel, Xion, and…Roxas…ran off to the clock tower. That had happened only once since…Roxas…had gotten together with Naminé, but according to Zexion the three had done it so often in earlier years that the Headmaster had threatened to mark them truant.

And then they'd reached the junior year.

"It's too bad, really," Xion sighed, stirring the white-brown goop in her bowl. "I've always wondered why we'd waste perfectly good vacation time like this in November when we could have three weeks off during Christmas."

Sora and Naminé nodded in agreement.

"But at least it's quiet," Naminé muttered, poking at her PB&J toast.

As if the universe decided at that very moment to refute that statement, the door to the cafeteria swung open with a _bang_, followed by a boy and a girl covering her ears.

"This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will…"

Heads began turning and ears began shutting down.

It took Naminé a moment to realize that Axel was rapping, _horribly_, and that Sora's face was buried in his eggs and that Xion was caressing the handle of a rather sharp knife next to her.

"Make him stop!" Kairi shouted, glaring at her brother.

"He's not doing Fort Minor justice," Riku said dryly. The silver-haired boy strode over to the table and plopped down next to Xion, who instantly scooted away.

Axel stopped rapping. "Shut up, mister," he growled, bopping Riku over the head.

The elder Miyamoto's response was to punch Axel in the side.

"Friends already?" Naminé asked in a feeble attempt at a quip.

Riku and Axel were now attempting to strangle each other.

"Good for you…"

Kairi sat down next to Sora, who immediately began blushing a deep crimson through a clownlike masked of egg but retained the fortitude to stay where he was.  
"Got egg on my face," he mumbled, looking away. "Don't…don't look…"

The redhead giggled softly and reached up to turn his face towards her—then she kissed away the yolk on the end of the brunette boy's nose. Sora looked like he was about to faint.

"Delicious," Kairi murmured, smiling widely. And then she went back in for another go.

From that one action, Naminé could easily deduce whom the charmer had been in those two's relationship and who'd _been_ charmed. The blonde gave a soft smile of her own and turned towards Riku and Axel.

Axel (she still had a difficult time reconciling his last name with him) was sitting at the opposite side of the table from her. He was moving a half-unconscious Riku's head around like a puppet, trying to mash Naminé's brother's face into a nimbly evading Xion's, who had a light red blush dusting her cheeks.

"Oh, Xion, how I love you," Axel sighed in an imitation of Riku's voice that made Naminé glance in shock at her half-unconscious brother before she realized that his supposed voice was just an imitation. Axel was way too good at this…

Xion, on the other hand, was clearly too flustered to notice the difference.

"Seriously, dude, stop," Xion said, ducking underneath an attempt to kiss her forehead. "I mean it, Riku! Stop before I have to do something drastic!"

Naminé scratched the back of her head. "Um…Xion, that's Axel moving Riku's head around…"

The traceuse halted in shock and anger—

"Axel, you _bastard_—"

—just as Axel shoved Riku's lips onto her mouth. Finally, Riku woke up—to the noises of Xion choking in embarrassment and the sight of Xion's face darkened to cherry red.

"Why, hello there," he smiled through the kiss. "I don't recall kissing such a pretty girl as yourself—but if you don't mind, I have to say I don't mind either."

Axel and Naminé clapped their hands over their mouths in an effort to _not_ laugh out loud (failing anyways) even as a now maroon Xion slapped Riku hard enough to knock the poor boy to the floor.

There was just one person missing…

She wished he were here.

"What're you two laughing about," a soft, familiar voice whispered by Naminé's ear. The blonde smiled again as two strong, warm arms tenderly wrapped themselves around her.

"Roxas," she whispered, planting a soft smooch on her boyfriend's cheek. "You're late, as always."

"You mean I'm _fashionably_ late," Roxas chuckled, taking his seat by her side. "So…what did I miss?"

Naminé glanced around the table—at Kairi, who was practically on top of Sora, at Xion, who was delivering punches with unerring force and precision into a completely unaffected Axel, and at Riku, who was only just now picking himself up off the floor.

"Nothing much," she replied, shrugging.

The door burst open again to reveal Seifer, Rai, and Fuu.

"Hey, rebels!" Beanie-head barked, setting his hands on his hips.

As one, Roxas, Riku, Axel, Xion, and Naminé (Sora and Kairi were too busy making out) rose up to meet their nemesis.

"What do you want now, Beanie?" Roxas sighed, scratching his dark blond spikes. "We already kicked your butt once; haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

Seifer smirked. "I have," he replied. "About the proper use of tactics, that is."

As if on cue, a hundred faceless minions stepped out from behind the tables surrounding the five. Dozens of leering eyes and cruel sneers focused upon Axel, Xion, Roxas, Riku, and Naminé.

They were completely unfazed.

"No idea what conservation of ninjutsu is, huh?" Xion sighed, raising her fists. "You people have got a lot to learn…"

The five charged into the mob and almost immediately random minions began flying every which way like bowling pins after a strike. Naminé got lost in the thickets of mooks, but she punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed, and generally jammed sneaker up and through ass through said squads of minions until she found and linked up with her brother.

"Did you see Roxas?" she shouted, sweep kicking an opponent off his feet.

"Back there, I think!" Riku shouted back, hammering another mook unconscious and curb stomping his head.

"Back where?" Naminé yelled, slamming two right hooks into somebody's jaw.

There was a collective scream of pain and fear and at least a dozen people went flying in the face of Axel's shoulder rush. Another cry of shock erupted from their left and Xion charged in, swinging around a stainless steel table leg like a baseball bat and delivering a disabling hit with each attack.

"Have either of you seen Roxas?" Naminé called, breaking a mook's arm and slugging him across the face.

"Not yet!" Xion replied, doubling over an opponent with a blow to the stomach before bringing her impromptu weapon down on his head.

Axel just shrugged in ignorance before grabbing two people's heads and cracking them together.

Naminé flipped somebody over her shoulder before rushing off (to her friends' yelps of surprise). She had to find Roxas. Had to. She didn't know why, only that she had to.

"Come on, where are you?" she mumbled, ducking a punch and retaliating with a kick to the mook's crotch. "Don't hide from me…!"

Just three more people to go…

She dove between two mooks, roundhouse kicked the third, and burst through the outer edges of the brawl and looked around to see—

His bloody face set in a mask of pain and sorrow.

His bloody hands frozen in front of him.

The bloody switchblade buried to the hilt in his chest.

She screamed and screamed and screamed…but no sound came out.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The boy gazed at the sleeping angel—_his_ sleeping angel.

Her lightly tanned skin was almost as pale as the moonlight that crept across Dorm 126. Her tiny hands were drawn up to her graceful neck. Her long, silky blonde hair was fanned out on her pillow as if she were underwater. Her face was tranquil, with just the slightest hint of a smile playing across her pink lips.

"Did I ever tell you just how beautiful you are when you're asleep?" he whispered, gently running his fingers through her hair—in his opinion, softer threads than the finest silk. "You look so peaceful, so unaware of the troubles you go through when you're awake."

She stirred. Mumbled something about…he couldn't really understand the last part, but he took it as a garbled protest.

He smirked. "Okay, I'm not saying you're ugly when you're awake, and I do like you better then. But still."

She didn't respond. Of course she couldn't; she was unconscious, and Xion had once told him that she was an almost comically heavy sleeper.

Roxas smiled again, moving his hand from Naminé's hair to her cheek. Her skin, if anything, was even softer than he'd remembered.

Then again, all men considered the women they loved to be the most beautiful in existence. True beauty is found where love is requited, he'd read once.

"I probably love you way too much," he chuckled, taking his hand off her face. "My sneaking into your room in the middle of the night proves that."

He glanced up at the top bunk, which was emanating light snoring. Good; Xion was still unaware of his presence, which was fortunate. Xigbar had told him that by now she'd probably kill him on sight and ask questions later.

Naminé stirred again. Moaned in pain. A single tear squeezed through her eyelids and slid down her face—

His finger had wiped away the drop of water before it could cross the centimeter of her skin from her eye to the pillow. Why was she crying?

He got his answer a second later.

"Roxas…no…" she murmured, shifting a little. Her hands were clutching at her covers now. "No…don't die…don't die…wake up, please…"

He was panicking now. How was he going to calm her? How?

"I'll kill you…Seifer…I'll rip your brains out…"

Then her voice lowered and distorted into incoherent whimpering and gibberish.

"Naminé, Naminé, calm down," he whispered into her ear, resisting the urge to shake her. "Calm down!"

She continued moaning. She was crying, now, sobbing and gasping.

What was he going to do—?

"What is it you usually do to pacify Miss Miyamoto, Mr. Takahashi?" a dry, iron-hard male voice said from behind him. "You hug or perhaps kiss her, correct?"

Roxas whipped around, his lapis eyes narrowed to slits, searching for whoever had spoken. But there was no one else in the dorm besides him, Naminé, and Xion. He didn't know that a certain guardian spirit was also in the room.

At least he could give this mystery person's tip a try.

The traceur gently leaned down and picked up the artist, wrapping her in a tender embrace. He followed it up with a gentle touch of his lips to hers.

The sensation of her lips was intoxicating. He found himself falling in even as some remaining rational part of his mind screamed and screamed and screamed at him to back off—

Naminé's eyelids fluttered open and for a second she swore that the person she'd seen die in her arms was there in front of her, holding her in _his_ arms—

And then Roxas's index finger pressed down on her temple.

The traceur knew he hadn't even hit hard enough to keep her under for more than half a minute, but all the same he once again felt the horror and self-hatred his mind had suffered through that night at the Formal.

And so he did the only thing he knew he could do in a situation like this.

When Naminé came to thirty seconds later, the mirage—the familiar blond spikes, the familiar twinkling lapis eyes had to have been a trick of the light—was gone.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY.

I DIDN'T UPDATE. D:

Windows Parental Controls Time Limits were harsh before, but when my mom saw that I got an 85 on a test, she freaked and accused my time on the computer of causing that.

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY, again.

*sigh*

Umm…review, please? *smiles weakly* If you're not too mad at me, that is…


	23. Back Again and Gone Again

I decided to make this chapter a bit longer in exchange for your guys' patience at my near-constant late updates. ^^ Still, sorry about the wait…

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

After her training with Roxas, Naminé had been able to keep pace with Xion during Mr. Wallace's morning calisthenics. Artist and traceuse alike were hands down the strongest and fastest among the sixth floor.

But today, Naminé was barely able to keep pace with the slowest girls; her normally graceful strides were more like drunken stumbling; and she could barely keep herself from just oozing to the floor in an unconscious heap. The two hour class seemed more like two days by the time Mr. Wallace allowed the girls back to their dorms.

"Naminé, are you okay?" Xion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," the blonde mumbled, staggering to her feet. "I…I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Why?"

"Nightmare…"

"Oh…" Xion sighed. "Well, I'm sorry."

Naminé shook her head. "S'not your fault," the blonde slurred, rubbing her eyes. "I saw Seifer kill Roxas and then I woke up."

The brunette's eyes widened. "Holy crap…"

"I remember somebody hugging me when I woke up," Naminé recalled, flopping onto her bunk. It was all she could do to not just fall asleep right then and there. "He looked kind of familiar, actually."

Xion's jaw was slack with horror.

"You're saying _a guy was inside_ _our room_ in the _middle_ _of the_ _night_?"

The artist froze as the horror of what she'd just said sank into her sleep-deprived brain.

"OH MY GOD!"

"AGHHH!"

"AGHHH!"

"AGHHH!"

Both of them ran around in circles, screaming at the top of their lungs, until finally the door burst open and Yuna stepped inside, brandishing a chair.

"Naminé, Xion, what's wrong?" the older girl shouted, glaring around the room.

The blonde had completely forgotten her exhaustion. "A guy broke into our room yesterday night!"

Yuna raised an eyebrow and lowered her bludgeon. "Why would a guy break into your room at night? Wouldn't they've been asleep by then?"

"How should we know?" Xion demanded. The traceuse turned to Naminé. "Do you remember what he looked like, Naminé?"

Naminé scratched her head. "I remember him having blond spiky hair…and blue eyes…and tanned skin…"

Steam was practically shooting out of Yuna's ears. "Tidus, you two-timing _bastard_," the heterochromatic growled, gripping the leg of her chair tightly enough to crack the wood slightly. "I'm going to rip your _BALLS_ off, you _ass_!"

Having said thus, the older girl stormed out with murder in her mismatched eyes.

"I-I was going to say that he looked kind of like R-Roxas," Naminé whimpered, wide-eyed with fear.

And then Xion's eyes were blazing with fury, too. "Roxas, huh?" the traceuse snarled, cracking her knuckles. "Then I wish you'd woken me up last night, Naminé. I need to teach that moron friend of mine a _lesson_ in treating his girlfriend right."

"Don't kill him. Please?"

"Relax Naminé, I'm not going to _kill_ him. I'm just going to cut off his legs so he can't run away anymore."

A single bead of sweat slid down the back of Naminé's head.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

She tried to remember how long it had been since the Formal—counted, in total, sixteen days. Funny; it had seemed more like sixteen _weeks_ than sixteen _days_.

So, so far he hadn't shown up for class for over two weeks. Ms. Lockhart hadn't stopped asking his name during roll call, but Naminé had almost gotten used to him not being here and the snickers and whispers from her fellow students that invariably resulted.

And then she walked into Room 11 and froze in her tracks.

There he was, silhouetted against the sunlight streaming through the window. He was sitting at the desk behind hers, as usual.

_As usual_. How long had it been 'as usual' for her?

What was she supposed to be? What was she supposed to feel? Angry at him for avoiding her for the past two weeks? Scared of confronting him? Nervous about how she'd talk to him? Sad for what he'd put her through? Happy that he had come back?

It shook her when she realized that she'd thought of being happy the last.

She was jolted out of her reverie when somebody gently moved her out of the doorway. The boy murmured a quiet apology before heading to his seat.

Naminé finally went to her desk when everybody else had streamed through the door and to theirs. She could feel the stares burning into her back as she sat down.

Roxas did not look up when she turned around to face him, nor did he blink when she tried to make eye contact with him.

"Good morning, Roxas," she whispered, and she turned back around as Ms. Lockhart picked up her clipboard.

"Merrill."

"Present."

"Miyamoto."

"Present."

"Perry."

"Present."

"Sanders."

"Present."

"Simpson."

"Present."

"T—"

And then Roxas lifted his head. "—Takahashi, _present_," he said softly.

_Takahashi, present._

Twenty-two heads slowly turned around to stare at the traceur, who returned his gaze to his desk. Naminé shrank down into her chair, fidgeting as she felt the eyes of her classmates drifting to her next, but she was thankful that there were no whispers.

Ms. Lockhart raised an eyebrow and erased something from her clipboard. "Mr. Takahashi, could you please come here after classes end? I need to speak with you about your attendance."

"Yes, Ms. Lockhart," he said tonelessly.

_Yes, Ms. Lockhart._

He'd spoken twice now; let her hear him again for the first time in sixteen days. Naminé had never thought that she could ever get so hung up over a boy, and yet here she was mentally repeating his words over and over and over.

She giggled. That was so pathetic of her…

"Why are you laughing?"

The blonde whirled around in surprise, but then she realized that the question had come from the girl next to her.

"Nothing," she replied, a bit disappointed that he hadn't...

Roxas didn't move.

"Now class," Ms. Lockhart began, rising from her desk and moving to the whiteboard. "Today we're going to start the novel…"

She glanced behind her and saw that Roxas still hadn't moved from his position.

_This is going to be a long two hours…_

**Xxx XXX xxX**

RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!

"AHHH—!" Naminé wildly looked around for the snarling, clawing xenomorph chasing after her before she realized that she was in the empty classroom. She'd…she'd fallen asleep, hadn't she? "I should never have agreed to watch _Aliens_ with Riku…"

Speaking of Riku, where was her brother? Didn't he have the same classes as she did?

Ms. Lockhart looked up and smirked. "Miss Miyamoto, class is over."

Oh crap, she was going to be late for second period!

The blonde quickly tossed her pencils and papers into her messenger bag—she could organize them during Period 2—and made a mad dash for the door—

"Naminé?"

He was staring at her as he spoke. Why was he still here?

She halted and nervously turned around to face him. "Y-Yeah?" she stuttered, doing her very best to not fall into those lapis pools…

"You forgot your eraser," he said, holding out the stubby pink block in his hand.

_Oh…_

For a second, disappointment that he'd only seen fit to talk to her over an eraser coursed through Naminé, but then she realized that _hey at least he'd said something to her_.

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the eraser and tossing it into her bag. "See you next period, Roxas!"

"Yeah," he murmured. "See you, Naminé."

And then he grabbed his own bag and jumped out the window. Naminé rushed to the sill and poked her head out, watching as the traceur gracefully move down the side of the tower like a spider, falling and catching himself from window to window, descending a floor with each drop.

He was so fast…

She shook herself out of her trance; a quick glance at the clock told her she had two minutes to get to Trigonometry class, and Period 2 English students were already pouring inside Room 11. There was only one thing she could do…

Ms. Lockhart must've realized what she was intending, because even as Naminé took two steps back, the English teacher shouted for her to stop—

Too late.

Naminé charged, a crazy grin playing at her lips, and vaulted over the windowsill, keeping a hand on the edge and spinning her entire body on her wrist to keep from falling fifty feet to the lawn below. The blonde used her other hand to catch herself from slamming into the wall, before bracing and letting go to fall towards a window she knew was directly below.

Unfortunately she'd forgotten that the window was two, not one, floors below. The artist bit back a scream of agony as her arms jerked to a stop, nearly tearing themselves out of their sockets.

"Mother_fucker_—!"

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid idea…_

She gently lowered herself to the sill, shuddering with the pain. "Dammit," she gasped, carefully rotating herself so that she could perch on the edge of the casement. "Holy _fuck_, that hurts…"

Her right shoulder had mostly calmed down, but her left shoulder was still hurting like crazy. She really hoped she hadn't dislocated it…

And then she shifted it.

"AGH!"

How nobody had seen her yet, Naminé didn't know. What she did know was that she had a crippled limb and no way to get back inside. Where was Vanitas when you needed him…?

The window squeaked open.

"How the hell did you get here?"

If she hadn't had her back pressed up against the window so hard Naminé was afraid she'd crack the glass, the artist would've fallen to her untimely death right then and there. And then recognition and relief replaced the sudden shock.

"Axel!"

The redhead set his hands on his hips. "Naminé? How'd you get up here?" he demanded. "And you're late for second period!"

"I was going to be late if I took the elevator," Naminé replied defensively. "So I decide to climb down the tower. I mean, it seemed really fast…"

He raised an eyebrow. "What you just tried to do was something only an idiot like Roxas would try," he remarked. "You saw him today, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Naminé replied, suddenly very aware that she was still rather high up in the air. "And, umm, could I…?"

Axel's green eyes narrowed, but he wordlessly pulled her in. She let out a sharp hiss as her left shoulder shifted again.

"Ow!"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder…"

The teacher, a green-haired, pleasant-looking woman, bustled up. "Mr. Heartilly, who is this girl?" she asked. If she was surprised by 'Mr. Heartilly' seemingly pulling a petite blonde girl out of thin air, she didn't show it.

"A friend of mine," Axel said, glaring at Naminé out of the corner of his eye. "She injured herself climbing down the tower."

"Oh my," the teacher sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, Mr. Heartilly, could you please escort her to the medical wing and then to her second period class?"

"Yes, Ms. Branford," Axel replied.

"Who's your second period teacher, Miss Miyamoto?" Ms. Branford asked.

"Mr. Leonhart, Ms. Branford."

The teacher smiled. "Leonhart, eh?" Ms. Branford remarked. "I'll tell him to excuse you, Miss Miyamoto, but could you tell him"—the teacher leaned in and her voice became a conspiratorial whisper—"that she does like him back?"

Naminé was a bit confused by the strange message, but she nodded her affirmation anyways.

"Thank you, dear," Ms. Branford smiled, straightening. "You two had best be on your way now."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

To his credit, Axel waited until they were in the elevator before he started interrogating Naminé.

"You say you saw Roxas today?" he asked tersely.

"Y-yes…"

The questions began flying as fast as machine-gun fire.

"When and where?"

"First period, English class. Lockhart."

"Did he say anything?"

"He just said that he was present when Ms. Lockhart skipped over him during roll call. He also told me that I'd forgotten my eraser."

"That's it?" Axel's bright green eyes were sharp with suspicion.

"Yes."

"What'd he do?"

"He kept his head down the entire class and he jumped out the window and climbed down the building after class."

He sighed. "Anything else…?"

"No…" Naminé mumbled. "I'm sorry…"

"Nah, it's not your fault," Axel chuckled, setting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Then his face contorted into the same deranged snarl Xion had had when Naminé told her that somebody resembling Roxas had snuck into their room. "Who's really at fault here is Roxas…"

"Don't kill him," Naminé said automatically.

Axel pouted. "I'm not going to _kill_ him—"

"And you can't cut his legs off, either."

"I wasn't going to do that. Where the heck did you get that idea from?"

"Really?" Naminé asked, her eyes brightening a little. "Because Xion said that that's what's she's going to do when she catches Roxas."

"Xion is a violent, bloodthirsty girl. I, on the other hand, am just going to give him a good _talking-to_," Axel growled, clenching his fists. Naminé squeaked as his fingers dug painfully into her arm, but he didn't notice. "That lousy no-good shit-for-brains dumb blond best friend of mine…"

"You sound like you're not going to let him live," Naminé said, trying fruitlessly to pry Axel's hand off her shoulder. "Judging by all those insults, I mean."

"You'd be surprised at what you can live through."

"I thought you said you wouldn't kill him!"

"Yeah, well, I never said I wouldn't grievously injure him."

"Well, you can't do that, either."

"Why not?"

"Because…because…" Naminé was frantically searching for a reason that would actually persuade Axel. Her arm was becoming numb. "Because he's my boyfriend, and only I get to touch him!"

Axel sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Naminé," he began, releasing her shoulder. "With the way he's treated you these past two weeks…do you really believe he still considers you his girlfriend?"

She flinched.

"I don't mean to hurt you, but…" Axel hesitated. "Roxas is a bit…tough to form a relationship with. This isn't the first time he's run away from a girlfriend, and he broke up with every single one of them in the end. All of them got their hearts broken."

"If you knew that then why didn't you stop me from falling…in…in…" Her voice cracked. She couldn't say it.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Axel inquired in a soft tone.

The expression on her face made it clear to all exactly what her response would be.

"Damn…what the heck do you see in him?" the redhead remarked, shaking his head. "Anyways, to answer your question, we didn't warn you from forming a relationship with him because, well, to be honest we think—hell, we _know_ that he's fallen for you harder than he's ever fallen before. Personally, I don't know if his feelings are really as strong as love, but I do know that you've done more for him than anybody else."

"What do you mean, I've done more for him than anyone else?" Naminé asked.

"Have you ever seen the real Roxas?" Axel whispered. "Not the calm and cool exterior he keeps up around everybody, the real him."

She had no idea what the supposedly 'real Roxas' was like. "No…at least, I don't think so…"

It took her a moment to realize that Axel was laughing.

"Girl, you really have no idea, do you?" the redhead smirked. "Roxas is always the real him whenever he's around you, and _only_ you."

"I've never seen a big difference," she protested.

"That's because you haven't known him long enough," Axel replied. "There's just this guarded look he gets in his eyes around anybody who he doesn't trust, and he never ever socializes with people outside the XIII and extremely close friends, both of which are basically the same thing. You want to know why?"

"Why?"

He laughed again. "Because he thinks he's got a 100% chance of screwing up people's first impressions of him. The guy has absolutely no self-confidence at all."

"But he talked to my mom and dad!" Naminé pointed out. "And he talks with Sora!"

Axel smirked. "That's because you were probably around. He didn't want to fail you. As for Sora, he's about the only guy who Roxas considers to be even worse off than he is."

Naminé decided not to ask why Roxas had that impression of Sora.

"As I was saying," Axel continued. "He's constantly on pins and needles around everyone except you, me, and Xion, and you're _still_ the best at getting him to be himself."

"Because he likes me?" Naminé heard herself say.

"Exactly. You've just got this…this special quality, this _charisma_ that makes people feel comfortable around you, like they could start a great friendship with you just by talking with you. It's true, too—I mean, look at how easily you became friends with Xion and Sora. Even Kairi's comfortable around you, and, well, yeah…" Axel halted. "You…you get what I mean, right?"

"Kind of," Naminé murmured. "So basically, what you mean is that Roxas likes me because I'm charming? That doesn't seem like a valid reason to me…"

"That's not the actual reason he fell for you, that's why he was _attracted_ to you," Axel corrected. "Roxas is a really complicated guy, to say the least; there're probably a dozen different things about you that he likes you for."

The redhead shrugged. "Unfortunately, I've got no idea what those are. Again, Roxas is a really complicated guy, and I'm not the best at reading people."

"But you worked out all these theories about him…"

"Naminé, Xion and I have been his best friends since the sixth grade," Axel said softly. "Six years—six _years_—was how long it took us to get this far into his psyche."

She was silent for a moment.

"Who…who was the last person he _really_ cared about?" Naminé asked quietly. "Before me?"

Axel shifted slightly. "Well, he doesn't like to talk about this…"

"Just tell me."

"His mom. He was never the same again after…"

She raised an eyebrow.

"His mother died of a stroke four years ago," Axel muttered. "I don't what the hell Roxas had to with do it, and it wasn't his fault at all, but he took the blame for it. He said he'd killed her; he was for missing for a month."

Four years ago? That matched up perfectly with the time Roxas might've been in the eighth grade…

The elevator slid to a halt.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Well, that's it! I hope this one was worth the wait.

Would you kindly leave a review? (sorry, I was watched Bioshock videos yesterday)


	24. Runaway

Must…finish…"Jump"…before…school…starts…guh. *head clunks into desk* Well, I'll try to at least make it to Ch. 30 before school begins.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

The medical wing took up half the sixth floor of Building C, and had state of the art equipment. Said equipment, however, was apparently unnecessary to fixing up a dislocated shoulder so long as you had somebody around who knew their medicine—at least, according to the nurse.

"Hold still, dear…one more moment…"

Naminé whimpered and turned green for a moment as her shoulder shifted back into its socket. For a moment it felt as if her arm had been torn clean off her body—

_Click._

"There we go."

She unclenched her teeth and sagged in relief as the pain faded—not quite gone, but almost. "Thanks, Ms. Farron," Naminé smiled, gently working her shoulder around.

The pink-haired nurse smiled back. "You're welcome, Miss Miyamoto," Nurse Serah Farron replied. "You and Mr. Heartilly had better return to your classes now."

"Yes, Ms. Farron," Axel said, motioning for Naminé to follow him out the door.

All seniors were supposed to assist the office staff for one period; as such, there were quite a few students that saw the blonde and the redhead together. Two boys filing grade reports gave Naminé and Axel confused looks as the two strode past to the elevator.

"You think they think we're together?" Axel commented in an amused tone.

"No," Naminé replied coldly.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that…"

All Axel got for his trouble was an elbow to his stomach. The redhead just laughed at her puny attempt to hurt him.

"Now you're asking for it," he cackled, grinning mischievously.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back—

And then she was squirming and laughing in his grasp as his fingers found and ran along her sides.

"Ax—Axel, s-stop, seriously—!"

"Say uncle!"

She had never known she was _that_ ticklish and she obviously wasn't prepared for Axel's sudden offensive, but to her credit, Naminé lasted two more seconds before giving in.

"Okay, okay, uncle, uncle!" she yelped.

Axel was laughing as he released her and she collapsed to her knees.

"You're such a wimp, you know that?" the redheaded traceur chuckled, ruffling Naminé's hair.

"And you're a dirty fighter," she grumbled, knocking his hand away from her head. "I mean, tickling? Come on! I do that to _Roxas_!"

The redhead smirked. "It's not dirty fighting—it's simply tactics."

She inhaled sharply.

_Tactics._

_Isn't that what—?_

…

_Seifer's smirk was unchanged. "Because unlike other people, I actually use tactics in a fight," he said, and then he nodded at Rai._

…

_And where he—he—_

…

_Seifer smirked. "I have," he replied. "About the proper use of tactics, that is."_

…

_Where…he…he killed Roxas._

_He killed Roxas._

_He killed—_

Reality came back with a rush as the noise of Axel's shouting filled her ears. Naminé awoke with a start to find herself in the redhead's arms.

"—miné, are you okay? Naminé, say something, dammit!"

Axel looked down at her with something akin to horror in his eyes. "Naminé, are you okay?"

His yelling was _not_ helping the pounding in her head.

"Stop shouting, I'm fine," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead.

He rocked back on his heels, relief evident in his deep green eyes. "Well, good," Axel laughed somewhat nervously. "You had me worried there for a second, kiddo."

"What…what happened, anyways?" she asked, sitting up from the elevator floor.

"You passed out."

The answer was so straightforward, so blunt, that Naminé's mind couldn't quite wrap around the idea that she'd fainted from spacing out. "I _passed out_? You're joking."

"I usually am, but this time I'm serious," Axel said. "You started mumbling something about tactics, and then you started spacing out, and then you collapsed."

She'd fainted because of one nightmare. One nightmare.

Naminé began laughing at herself. She was even more pathetic than she'd thought—passing out over a bad dream? She'd never passed out once in her entire life, but now she was fainting at the drop of a hat. So damned pitiful…

He frowned in concern. "Naminé? Are you okay?" he asked again.

She just kept on laughing.

The elevator dinged to a halt and the doors slid open to reveal Larxene, who was holding a stack of binders. The traceuse stepped inside and quizzically arched an eyebrow at Axel.

"Axel? What're you doing here, and why are you with Naminé?" she demanded.

The artist continued laughing like a madwoman.

"She dislocated her shoulder, Ms. Branford told me to escort her to the med wing, and then she started spacing out before she fainted. Then she wakes up and starts laughing like some random nutcase."

Larxene nodded. "Right…"

"I'm not kidding!" Axel protested.

Naminé drew her knees up to her chest and began rocking and forth. Her laughter was now muffled and intertwined with choked sobs.

"I never said I doubted you," Larxene said.

"Thank you for your trust," Axel replied. Then he gestured towards Naminé. "Now will you help me _calm this poor girl down_?"

Upon which said 'poor girl' stopped laughing. "I'm okay now."

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Where were you?" Riku hissed as Naminé slid into her seat. "It's been a half-hour since class started!"

She was uncomfortably aware of Roxas staring into her back.

"I dislocated my arm," she mumbled.

Riku's eyebrows shot sky-high. "What!"

"Quiet," Naminé hissed. "Yes, I dislocated my shoulder. You don't need to know how."

Her brother shut his mouth but not before shooting a glare at the traceur behind her, as if Riku had known all along what had gotten her injured in the first place. It wasn't like her older brother didn't already have a bone to pick with Roxas, but still.

"Did you have something to do with it?" Riku growled, glowering at the other blond.

Roxas glared right back. "What's it to you?"

"I swear, if you were the one who did this to Naminé—"

"I ask you, why would I attack her?"

"I don't know! Maybe you were trying something perverted with her!"

At this, light pink dusted both Roxas and Naminé's faces.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Naminé half-shouted, grinding her teeth together. "Why do you think that _Roxas_ would try something _perverted_ with _me_?"

Mr. Leonhart cleared his throat. "Do you have something to share with the class, Miss Miyamoto?"

"No."

"Good. Now shut up and listen to my lecture."

The classroom rang with sympathetic chuckles as Naminé shrunk into her seat, her face burning cherry red. For a second Roxas looked like he was going to start teasing her, but then he closed his mouth and returned his gaze to his desk.

Wait a second—

_The teacher smiled. "Leonhart, eh?" Ms. Branford remarked. "I'll tell him to excuse you, Miss Miyamoto, but could you tell him"—the teacher leaned in and her voice became a conspiratorial whisper—"that she does like him back?"_

Naminé's lips curved into a mischievous smile. She raised her hand. "Mr. Leonhart?"

"What now?"

"Ms. Branford told me to give you a message."

"And what would this message of hers be?" Mr. Leonhart asked dully, although his hand instantly crushed the piece of chalk to dust.

The blonde's smile had twisted into a shit-eating grin. "She _does_ like you back."

An _ooooh_ drifted through the room even as Mr. Leonhart palmed his forehead. "You couldn't have waited to tell me this until _after_ class?" he ground out.

"Who is it you like, Mr. Leonhart?"

The teacher blanched. "Uh…"

"Is it Ms. Kisaragi?"

"Is it Ms. Gainsborough?"

"Is it Mr. Wallace?"

Another _ooooh_.

"Good grief," Riku groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Yaoi fangirls. What have you incited, Naminé?"

The shouted speculations grew into a whirlwind of accusations, inquiries, and (quite) a few blackmail threats before Roxas spoke up.

"It's Ms. Lockhart, isn't it?"

The quiet, confident declaration turned everybody's heads to the boy behind Naminé. The blonde shrank into her seat again to make it obvious to everybody that she had not said that.

"It's Ms. Lockhart, isn't it Mr. Leonhart?" Roxas said again, the barest hint of a smirk curling one corner of his mouth. "Don't lie to me. I've caught you staring at her several times."

A third _ooooh_, accompanied by a few snickers. Mr. Leonhart looked like he was wishing the earth would open up and swallow him, but Naminé couldn't blame him.

Roxas narrowed his lapis eyes. "Come on, out with it."

The trigonometry teacher gritted his teeth before exhaling. "Yes, I have a crush on Ms. Lockhart," he growled. "Now all of you shut up before I get _angry_. You're not going to like me _angry_, I'll warn you now."

Everybody instantly quieted.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"You fainted because of that nightmare?" Xion asked. The traceuse sounded just a bit incredulous. "Wow…"

"My sister's quite the wimp, isn't she?" Riku said. "I remember when we watched _Return of the Jedi_ when we were kids. She was paranoid that an unmasked Darth Vader was going to break into her room and she couldn't sleep for a month."

"His face was scary!" Naminé protested, shuddering at the memory of Vader's horribly mutilated face. "All those bloody scars and burns and it was so _pale_…"

"It was ugly, not scary," Xion laughed. "Hell, even Sora wasn't afraid, and he was screaming like a little girl when we watched freaking _300_."

"Shut up, you," Sora grumbled through a mouthful of pasta.

The four were seated at the 'parkour table', as Naminé had come to call it. Axel and Larxene had texted that they were still doing office work and wouldn't be able to come to lunch, and Zexion was volunteering at the Building C library. As such, the table built for eight and normally crowded with nine (as of Riku's arrival) had less than half its normal occupants.

That didn't stop it from being just as lively as usual, though.

"Seriously though, it was just a nightmare," Xion said. "Just put it past you and try to forget about it."

"I know, I know," Naminé sighed, poking at her fried rice. "I'm trying, but I'm not even halfway there. I mean, how would you feel if you saw your crush getting knifed?"

At the mention of the word 'crush', Riku glanced at Xion.

"Then let's try to take your mind off of it," Sora suggested, grinning mischievously. "Had a wet dream yet, Naminé?"

All three stared at the brunette boy. He shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

"You killed it," Riku sighed, shaking his head.

"Really, Sora?" Naminé sighed, shaking her head.

"Why are we sighing and shaking our heads when we could be dissing him with everything we've got?" Xion asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naminé considered for a moment. "Good point."

"You're such a pervert, man," Riku smirked. The platinum blond boy leaned forward. "Got a thing for my sister, do you?"

"Look who's talking," Sora retorted.

Xion glanced at Riku even as the elder Miyamoto turned beet red. Sora just smirked as Riku began spluttering denials and exhortations for Sora to shut up or be executed.

"So you really do have a crush on her," Naminé smiled. "Why don't you go on and tell her, Riku?"

"I don't have a crush on anybody!" her older brother declared.

"Bullshit," Sora chuckled. "You were looking at her rack just now."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. She hadn't noticed that, but she knew that Sora was not one to lie. And it might be better to add in an observation she'd made herself of Riku's wandering gaze.

"I caught you looking at her legs, too," the blonde said.

"Did not!"

"Did too. You probably spent a good hour in your bunk after that too."

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

The artist was very much enjoying dissing her older brother. It wasn't often that she got the best of him—it was usually him who mocked her. The utter confusion on Xion's face was somehow also rather satisfying for Naminé.

She smiled demurely. "Well, make what you will of that."

"Shut up," he growled.

"That's a taken line," Sora remarked.

"Since when was 'shut up' a so-called taken line?"

"Ever since I said it the first time in this conversation."

Riku began spluttering again. "You—you can't copyright a phrase!"

"Says you."

Ah, good times, good times…almost like back before—

_There he was._

Naminé stood, wide-eyed, as Roxas stepped inside, glancing nervously around the cafeteria. He hadn't been especially talkative in the earlier periods, and he'd leaped out the window the instant class ended during second period, but he was here. He was back.

Xion glanced from 'Roxas' to Naminé's joyful expression. The traceuse tried to shout a warning, tried to calm down her friend before the blonde realized that—

"ROXAS!"

The boy whirled around, his lips parting in an 'O' of shock.

"Naminé, _no_! He's not—"

—just as Naminé stopped dead in her tracks. This guy wasn't Roxas.

"Um, hi?" the _imposter_ said awkwardly. "I'm Tidus, not that Roxas kid…"

She took a step back, trying to hold in her tears. He'd left her. Again.

"TIDUS YOU SONOFABITCH GET BACK HERE SO I CAN—oh hi there, Naminé," Yuna said cheerfully, skidding to a halt next to a cowering Tidus. And then she saw the blonde's expression. "Naminé? Is there something wrong…?"

The earsplitting, barely human shriek of rage, of pain, of grief, of cruel, cruel _despair_, made everybody in the cafeteria stare in shock and horror at the half-sobbing blonde girl who had made it.

"Shit," Xion hissed, rushing up. "Naminé, don't run—"

The artist darts out the door before anybody can stop her. Tidus and Yuna barely evade and a group of passing sophomores dive out of the way as she sprints for the elevator.

The sound of pursuit faded away after the first mile.

**M: ER~**

She'd tried to stop crying three times now and failed all three times.

Part of it is embarrassment that she mistook somebody else for Roxas. Tidus doesn't even look like Roxas; the face and the build are all wrong.

Part of it is shame that she screamed like that. Riku will never let her live this down. Xion will probably look at her with disgust.

Part of it is despair—why does Roxas not want to see her? She's asked this question to herself dozens of time over the last sixteen days, but she's got no conclusions.

So she just tried to sob away the pain.

Naminé wall-passed up to the first window and muscled-up at least three floors until she reached the roof of the building. Then she just collapsed onto her back and let the sun beat down on her. She didn't know where she was; only that she had run out the gates of ADBS and just wanted to be somewhere alone.

When she'll return, she doesn't know.

"Why are you doing this?" Naminé moaned, blinking the last tears away. "Dammit, Roxas. Just tell me why you're running away from me, why I haven't seen you for two weeks. Are we over? Do you still like me? What did I do to make you act like this?"

"To answer your questions…"

She jolted at the familiar voice, sitting up and glancing around. He was right there, leaning against the railing—she had no idea how he'd snuck up on her like that.

"What I'm doing has nothing to do with what you did. I way more than just _like_ you. I hope you don't consider us over. The other questions…" He hesitated.

Before Roxas could go on, Naminé had pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Where the hell were you?" she whispers, clenching her teeth.

"Xigbar's flat," he replied. But his arms hung at his sides, not returning her hug. "He told me that I should at least try to stay in school, so I came back."

The revelation that he'd only returned to not fail out of high school crushed Naminé. She'd hoped and she'd wished that he would come back because of _her_…

"Oh," she mumbled, pulling away. "Okay, then…"

"Do you hate me?"

The question sounded so absurd and yet quietly serious that Naminé was caught off guard by it.

"What kind of question is that?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know I've put you through a lot of pain," he replied softly. "Now I wonder if you hate me for it."

How could she? Even now, when she should be angry with him or at least yell at him, his very presence was making her heart skip every other beat.

"Of course I don't hate you," Naminé sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I…I just don't know how to react to your coming back."

"Xion threatened to cut off my legs after the first time," he mumbled, but it was completely without amusement. "And Axel wanted to remove my knees, so there you have it."

She'd heard a bit about the first time Roxas had run away from Axel, but there was no way in hell she would ever do the things his best friends had threatened to do to him.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before he began laughing.

"Why are you—?"

She was cut off when he explodes.

"God_dammit_!" he yelled, pounding his fists against the tiled roof. "I just completely _fucked up_ an apology to my girlfriend. God fucking _dammit_!"

Naminé reached out to set a reassuring hand on his shoulder. To her relief he didn't pull away like she had.

"Roxas, it's not your fault," she said, and promptly wished she could take the words back.

He laughed humorlessly. "Of course it is," he half-snarled, half-sobbed. "I couldn't protect you from Seifer. I abandoned you when you needed me most. I left you hanging, I left you wondering when I'd come back, I left you wondering if I even still _loved_ you…goddamn, I'm such a _fucking screwup_. I hurt everybody who cares about me because I'm not even brave enough to face my problems head-on."

The words come out of her mouth before she can stop them. "Then why won't you ask for help with your problems?"

She winced as Roxas's face twisted into a sad smile.

"Because I'm not brave enough to even do that," he mumbled. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Naminé. God, I'm sorry."

Naminé knew what he was about to do, but she didn't react quickly enough.

"Roxas, don't—"

He'd already vaulted the railing before she could finish.

"…go…"

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I have no idea if I just made Roxas a total, callous bastard or a sympathetic woobie. *sighs in frustration*

I also haven't a clue how this one turned out. It went from normal to funny to creepy to funny again and then to sad. So yeah...

Anyways, review please!


	25. Move Along

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY! D: I updated so late…I hope you guys aren't too pissed off at me. This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write; parkour's tougher to describe than I had originally thought. It's also eleven pages long.

I neglected damn near all of my stories to write this chapter and it took insanely long to get acceptable, so I really hope you guys like this one. And **smileydomino**, get well soon! ^^

Musical inspiration: "Taking over Me", by Evanescence.

BTW: The title was inspired by "Move Along", from the All American Rejects. It's a pretty good song and it perfectly describes Naminé right now.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.

I only own this story. Without further ado, the chapter.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

It was in the early evening when Naminé finally made her way back to the campus. Xion, Sora, and Riku were waiting for her by the gates. All three let out cries of relief and rushed her when they caught sight of the petite blonde trudging up the main driveway.

"Where were you?" Xion demanded, although the traceuse's sharp tone was undermined by the fierce hug she half-crushed Naminé with.

"We were so worried about you!" Riku added, glaring at his sister. "We thought you'd been hurt!"

"You missed periods 3 and 4," Sora growled. "Care to tell us why?"

Naminé didn't respond. A dozen different emotions were gnawing at her insides—sadness, grief, heartbreak, loss, despair, apathy…fury, annoyance, confusion…sympathy, love, compassion…

She couldn't believe that she was feeling those last three. Roxas had willfully hurt her, had left her hanging, and had abandoned her when he supposed to be there for her. He had no right to make her feel bad for him—she was supposed to hate him for doing this to her.

Riku sighed. "You met Roxas, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes."

So this was love and all its cruelty.

"He ran away again, didn't he?" Xion asked.

"Yes."

This was so confusing. Was she supposed to react to Roxas's actions with disgust or understanding? Hatred or sympathy?

"So why didn't you come back?" Sora asked, crossing his arms.

She thought about that for a second and came up with a few possible reasons. She had felt somewhat afraid of confronting her friends, knowing that they might be angry at her. She had hoped Roxas would come back, and so she waited for him until she lost her patience. She hadn't wanted to come back to the place where she'd first felt heartbreak; the town outside felt so free of worries, free of pain…she thought she could forget her sorrow, forget Roxas.

"I don't know," Naminé mumbled.

None of them looked convinced and she couldn't blame them. She would've called bullshit on them if they had tried the same answer.

"Well, if you don't want us to know, we won't pry," Xion sighed, favoring Naminé with a kind smile. "Just tell us when you're ready, okay?"

That was when Naminé decided then and there to stop pining over Roxas. Her friends were worried about her, and she'd be an ungrateful bitch if she didn't try to stop aching.

She smiled shakily. "Thanks, guys," she sniffled, her lip wobbling. "Th-thank you so much…"

She wasn't just talking about their concern. She knew now that she really could bury her misery over Roxas and patiently wait until he grew out of his problems.

"Aw no, Naminé, don't cry…" Riku mumbled as his sister buried her face in his shirt and started crying her heart out into his shoulder. "It's a new shirt, sis…."

"You know, I don't like men who don't comfort their hurting sisters."

Three heads pivoted around to stare at Xion, who had a stony expression on her face. Naminé raised an eyebrow, tears and pain completely forgotten.

"Did you just say what I think you just said?" the blonde asked, protectively stepping in front of her red-faced brother.

"I think this calls for shotguns," Sora deadpanned, miming racking the pump of such a weapon. "You keep your dirty paws off Xion, Mr. Riku."

The traceuse rolled her eyes and punched her brother's shoulder, making Sora wince. "That's just my male preference, dimwit," she snapped. "And in case you've forgotten, I'm bi. I don't have to be stuck with men to find love. So _there_."

Riku blinked. "You're bisexual?" he asked. "Damn, that's—"

Naminé elbowed her brother. "Don't even think about it."

"It's the hormones!" Riku protested. "How can you blame an adolescent male for being turned on by hot lesbian chicks?"

Light pink dusted Xion's face and she looked down.

"How can you blame any girl for being offended by that?" Naminé retorted. She vaguely remembered that she'd been crying moments before, but she found that she didn't really care.

"Whatever," Riku groaned. "Can we go back to our dorms now? I downloaded Rebuild of Evangelion and I really want to watch it."

"I have no idea what that is," Xion said.

"You wouldn't, but apparently Zexion would," Riku replied. "He loves Neon Genesis Evangelion."

"Zexion is your roommate?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah, you know him?" Riku replied. "He's a pretty cool guy. I heard he was kind of emo, but I'd call it lovesickness."

Lovesickness…? Before Naminé could ask further, out of nowhere Larxene dropped down on top of Riku, knocking the silver-haired boy to the ground.

"Why, hello there, Mr. Sexy," the blonde traceuse purred, tracing a fingernail across the platinum blond's jaw. "I don't think I've ever seen you around the campus before…"

"Get off him, Larxene," Xion snarled, shoving her fellow traceuse off of Riku. "He's the new kid—Naminé's brother."

"Oh, my apologies, Xion," Larxene drawled, her shit-eating grin only widening. "Is he yours?"

Xion's cheeks flushed a vibrant red. "What? No!"

"Well, he sure looks like he wants to be," Axel snickered, trotting up.

"Shut up, fire-head," Riku hissed, his eyes narrowing. "You don't deserve Larxene, you son of a bitch."

"And whatever the hell is that supposed to mean?" Axel snorted, although Naminé could see the faintest trace of a blush on the traceur's face.

"It's exactly what you think I mean," Riku replied, crossing his arms. "Make of that what you will."

"But I have no idea what you mean."

"Any retard could figure out what I mean."

"Was that supposed to be an insult? Because that's the most pathetic one I've heard all day."

"I don't think anybody respects you enough to so much as insult you."

The verbal duel between her brother and Axel reminded Naminé of their brawl in her dream—

The blonde crushed the memory of her nightmare underfoot, an unnoticed snarl of pure rage momentarily materializing on her face. She would _not_ be overcome by a goddamn _dream_.

"The fact that you insulted me first proves your immaturity."

"The fact that you provoked me proves your immaturity."

"The fact that you two are fighting like this proves that both of you are immature," Larxene cut in, shaking her head. "Why is it that men always have to be dominant over each other? Why can't you be like Sora, calm and cool?"

Sora smirked. "What she said."

Riku smirked back. "She only said that because you're whipped."

That was when Axel tackled Riku to the ground and put Naminé's brother in a brutal headlock. "Did you just insult the brother of one of my best friends?" the redhead inquired in a dangerously quiet tone. "And what's more, did you just insult the words of one of my best friends?"

"Oh, I wasn't insulting anybody," Riku grinned through the finger crushing down on his throat. "But I highly doubt that you took offense as a best friend."

Axel's eyes flashed a bright emerald glint of anger, but then Xion delivered a kick to his ribs, knocking the redhead off the platinum blond. Naminé followed the brunette with a second kick to Riku's leg, making her brother cringe in pain.

"Both of you shut up!" Naminé shouted, placing her hands on her hips. "I agree with Larxene, you're _both_ immature."

The two boys just rolled their eyes.

"Whatever, Naminé…"

She promised herself—she wouldn't dwell on Roxas anymore. She wouldn't despair over him, wouldn't pain herself over him. She would try to forget about him until the day he finally came around. She wouldn't have her heart broken by him day after day anymore.

She'd move along.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Wake up wake up WAKE UP!"

The blonde just groaned and twisted around, burying her face in her covers. "Go away and let me sleep, damn you…"

"You asked for it."

_Uh-oh._

She heard the noise of Xion cracking her knuckles, and suddenly the covers were yanked off her bunk. Naminé shrieked both in surprise and at the sudden rush of cool morning air on her skin.

Xion raised an eyebrow. "You were sleeping in the nude? Whoa…kinky."

"What's wrong with that?" the blonde shot back defensively, although her cheeks flushed crimson. Flashing Xion like this was essentially showing off her body to a guy.

"Nothing, I guess," Xion chuckled, her eyes looking Naminé up and down. "Get dressed. We've got a big day ahead of us…"

Naminé frowned. She'd been planning to spend the first day of winter break indoors, drawing and reading and screwing around the computer. She didn't want to go out…

But Xion was her friend. She didn't want to disappoint her.

"Okay," Naminé mumbled, hopping out of bed and darting to the closet in a blur of pale skin. "Don't peek!"

"No point in that! I already know what you look like naked, anyways."

Once again, red dusted Naminé's cheeks as the blonde threw on a T-shirt and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She could still remember her first night at ADBS and the…incident after she had come out of the shower.

"Where're we going?" Naminé inquired, stepping out of the closet. "The mall again?"

"Nope," Xion replied. "We're going to go to the clock tower!"

The clock tower? Wasn't that where Axel, Xion, and—Naminé ruthlessly crushed the upsurge of emotions at the memory of a certain spiky-haired blond. She would _not_ let some puny memory screw her over.

"Why?" she asked.

"First semester finals are coming up," Xion replied. "We thought you might need a break, get out a little, get some fresh air, yadda yadda yadda."

"By 'we', you mean you, right?"

"By 'we', I mean me and Axel. 'We' is plural. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Naminé sighed. "Miss OCD Grammar."

Xion snorted. "I hated my grammar tutor."

The girls trotted down the hall to the elevator. As if on cue, the doors opened to reveal Axel leaning against the back wall. Naminé and Xion took spots next to the tall redhead.

An ear-shatteringly loud noise resembling the love child of a car crash and a tortured pig suddenly erupted from the elevator speakers—directly above the three. They yelped in shock and clapped their hands over their ears.

"What the hell is that?" Axel yelled, glowering at the speaker above him.

"Heavy metal!" Xion yelled back. "Heavy metal elevator music!"

"What idiot chose _heavy metal_ for _elevator music_?"

"What, _I'm_ supposed to know why?"

Naminé was just trying to prevent the violation of her ears. In all honesty, Riku's heavy metal hadn't been all that bad, but her brother had had the courtesy to use earphones. The elevator car, on the other hand, sounded like the inside of an action movie. The suffering trio couldn't run out fast _enough_ when the elevator reached the first floor.

"And we have to go through that again when we come back," Xion grumbled.

"Well, lucky you," Axel growled. "My dorm's on the seventh floor, if you've forgotten."

The other two shook their heads in sympathy.

A winter morning in dusky Twilight Town was usually crisp and refreshingly cool, but never cold, not like in Hollow Bastion. The campus lawn glittered with dewdrops under the pale light of the sun. White clouds drifted lazily across the grey-blue sky.

There were quite a few students lounging on the grass. Naminé recognized Terra among a crowd of seniors and waved; the brown-haired boy grinned and waved back. His group suddenly exploded into murmurs—Naminé caught the words 'who', 'she', and 'babe'.

When she heard that last one, the blonde turned bright red and looked down at her sneakers.

"Friend of yours?" Xion asked.

"Acquaintance."

"Oh."

Axel narrowed his eyes. "Is there anything between you two?"

"I said we were just acquaintances!" Naminé protested.

"I certainly hope that's true," he growled. "Nobody, not even our favorite dumbass Roxas, deserves getting cheated on."

Yeah, like she'd ever cheat on that amazing boy. Naminé just sighed and kept quiet.

The parking lot outside the main gate was connected to the main driveway by a small path. There were a few cars and trucks parked there, but they were clearly the faculty's vehicles—except for one gunmetal grey Saturn Grand Prix with a familiar friendly, one-eyed visage in the driver's window.

"Hi, Mr. Xigbar," Naminé smiled, popping open the backseat door.

"Hey there, little lady," Xigbar replied. "And just call me Xigbar. I'm too young for 'Mister'."

"Isn't your thirtieth birthday only a month away?" Xion snickered, sliding in next to Naminé.

Xigbar reached back and bopped Xion on the head. "Shut up, XIV."

"That just proves you're getting old," Axel remarked. The redhead had taken the passenger's seat, in front of Naminé. "Only that geezer Vexen calls us by our numbers."

Everybody laughed at the memory of the cranky man, but the mirth was gone the instant the car screeched out of the driveway and onto the street, clipping a small bush along the way. Naminé squeaked, unable to make a louder sound in her terror, and her fingernails dug into the leather of her seat.

Xion patted her shoulder. "Relax, Naminé," the brunette advised.

"Why?"

"Because there's nothing you can do about how Xigbar drives."

That was a good point, she supposed, but it was small comfort and—

"TRUCK!"

"I see it, I see it…"

The car fishtailed out of the way of the eighteen-wheeler; Naminé glimpsed the driver flashing Xigbar a rude gesture as the two vehicles streaked past each other. How they had survived going into the opposite lane and coming back when there was an almost solid stream of automobiles speeding past, Naminé didn't know.

She was too busy hyperventilating.

"Let's have some music," Axel declared. If the redhead was frightened, he didn't show it. "Xigbar?"

"Go ahead."

Axel jabbed the power button for the radio. A lively pop punk song—"Girlfriend", by Avril Lavigne, Naminé recognized—blasted out of the woofers in the car.

"_Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend!"_

"Come on everybody, sing along!"

"_Hey, hey, you, you, I think you need a new one."_

She didn't want to sing along—singing along meant actually being able to form coherent words. Naminé had no intention of humiliating herself with the mouse noises that were all she was currently able to form.

"_Hey, hey, you, you, I can be your girlfriend!"_

On the bright side, Axel and Xigbar singing Avril Lavigne was just as hilarious as she'd imagined. That they could sing a woman's voice fairly well was a bonus (of course, Naminé was being nice about that).

Conclusion? Both girls were laughing their asses off as the guys utterly butchered "Girlfriend".

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"This is the place?" Xigbar asked. He sounded dubious. "It's a total dump."

The man had a point. The roof of the building had collapsed in several places, and the main loading docks were almost entirely filled with refuse. The corrugated steel walls were etched with rust; it was a miracle there was no graffiti anywhere visible.

"To be precise, it's a warehouse, not a dump," Axel replied.

Naminé gazed out the window at the grey walls. It was the place Roxas had taken her to for her first real taste of parkour, just before the Fall Formal.

The three stepped out of Xigbar's car.

"Thanks for the ride!" Axel called.

"No problem, dude!" Xigbar called back. "You three take care of yourselves, alright?"

"Will do! Have a nice one!"

"You too!" And Xigbar's car peeled away from the curb, disappearing around the corner. The three headed for the building when he was out of sight.

"So many memories," Naminé murmured, blinking back a happy tear.

"Excuse me?" Xion asked.

"Roxas brought me here once," Naminé replied, stepping over a cinderblock. "It was the first time I ever did actual parkour…"

"Did you two make out here?" Axel chuckled.

"No, it was too uncomfortable," Naminé smiled, rubbing her neck. "But we did have a lot of fun."

"It's good that you can focus solely on the good memories you have with Roxas," Xion smiled.

"It does help…" Naminé's voice trailed off as she noticed the tiny glyph she'd spotted the first time she went here. "Hey, what's that thing?"

Upon closer inspection, the mark was revealed to be an upside-down heart with a cross projecting up out of the point.

"That?" Axel said. "That's the Organization XIII symbol. It marks this spot as our turf."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Turf?"

"He means practice area," Xion explained. The traceuse shook her head. "Axel, can't you just use some other word besides 'turf'?"

"What's wrong with 'turf'?" Axel whined.

"Using it makes you sound like a gangster."

He sighed. "That's just a stereotype."

"Exactly."

Axel sighed again. "Okay, good point," he muttered. "Anyways, today we're going to be playing a game. We're going to run in a straight line to the clock tower, a mile away, from this starting point."

"Uh-huh…"

"Here's the catch, though—we go in a set order, and we have to finish in a set order. The spirit of parkour isn't about competition, after all."

She hadn't heard that before. "Okay. When do we start?"

"Now."

And Xion and Axel exploded into motion, wall-passing up to the warehouse roof before Naminé had even taken a single step. The blonde snarled a curse and followed, climbing as fast as she dared. This side of the warehouse was four stories tall, and Naminé quickly found herself having to jump up in order to muscle-up windows. At times she was using the divots in the corrugated steel to climb up.

But eventually she made it to the roof, where Axel and Xion were waiting for her.

"What's the matter?" Xion said teasingly. "I thought Roxas taught you parkour."

"You two caught me off guard," Naminé grumbled, her face reddening with embarrassment anyways.

"Sure…" Axel snickered. "Alright, the order's Xion, you, and then me."

The girls nodded.

"Three…two…one…go!"

Naminé had never seen Xion perform parkour up until now, but any doubts she'd had about the brunette's skill in the discipline were dispelled when Xion was suddenly on the next roof—_again_ before Naminé had taken a single step.

The artist decided then and there to _move_ instead of just watch the others. She took off, leaping over the seven foot gap of the opposite building, and landed on her toes. Naminé sprinted forward again, barely taking a moment to check for a rooftop below before she vaulted the railing and rolled forward on impact.

This rooftop had a thin wire stretching over the street below to the next roof. Naminé heard shouts of shock and horror from below as she cat-balanced across the wire, which was at least thirty feet off the ground. She knew that deep down she was utterly terrified, but she also knew that if she took even a heartbeat to acknowledge that fear, she'd fall to her death.

Not exactly a comforting thought…

But finally she reached the opposite roof and continued running to a brick wall. Naminé began climbing up, using any protruding bricks as hand and footholds. When she reached and muscled-up over the top, she caught sight of Xion jumping down. Naminé rushed to the edge of the roof and looked down to see the brunette descending the adjacent apartment complex by leaping from balcony to balcony.

"This is insane," Naminé whispered, but a feral grin was plastered on her lips.

A one and a two and a one two three—Naminé took a running leap to the first balcony, braced on impact, and jumped off down towards the next one. At one point she encountered a pole jutting from the wall and used it to swing forward, using the momentum to soar towards the next balcony. She turn-vaulted on that balcony's railing, rotating around one hundred eighty degrees so that she was facing the inside of the balcony, and let go to drop down to the street.

The blonde about-faced again and began running after Xion's lithe form, weaving through the crowd. Upon encountering a convenient crate, Naminé jumped on top of it and used her momentum to cat-grab the windowsill above her, muscling-up onto the sill. She used the window's header board as a springboard to jump and cat-grab the windowsill above, and then muscled-up to the window. A third cat-grab/muscle-up combo, followed by a vault over a railing, brought her onto the rooftop.

Where the hell was the police? Rooftops weren't usually places people were allowed to run amok in.

Naminé took a breath before loping forward, quickly building up to her full speed. In seconds she was practically gliding across the roof (which she noticed was tiled with concrete), sprinting towards a fountain she spied off in the distance. Xion's head suddenly appeared off to Naminé's left; the blonde turned in surprise just in time to see the traceuse run up the remainder of the staircase and skid to a halt in front of her.

"Well, fancy meeting you here," Xion quipped.

"Yep," Naminé replied. She extended an index finger forward. "Shall we?"

"Let's."

Both girls darted forward, Naminé being careful to keep behind Xion, and in seconds they reached a jam-packed square. There was a crowd clustered around a circular arena, and as Naminé passed them, she saw two boys dueling with short blue bats.

"That's struggle," Axel said from behind her. "It's a popular Twilight Town sport."

Naminé yelped in surprise, almost tripping. "R-right," she said. "You scared me."

Axel grinned. "I know."

She pouted before tearing off so fast it was like she had suddenly disappeared. She'd never tell, but hearing Axel's shocked sputtering as she did so was rather satisfying.

The square was huge, at least three hundred meters to a side. Naminé estimated that they had traversed four, maybe five hundred meters—between a fourth and a third of the way to the clock tower. Fortunately, the next third of the course was mostly bare sidewalk. The blonde found herself whistling the tune to a rock song (she couldn't remember which one) as she jogged along the street.

But the sidewalk eventually gave way to a row of office buildings, and Naminé spotted Xion clambering a partition of glass and steel, using the tiny divots in the walls to climb. The blonde shivered; she was not the type of person to trust life and limb to centimeter-deep fingerholds. Unfortunately, she had no choice. Scaling the office buildings was the most direct way to the clock tower.

"What have I gotten myself into," she mumbled even as she wall-passed up to the first floor. It was tantamount to an act of God that nobody saw her.

The aforementioned divots carved into the walls had been decorative, but now Naminé used them like a non-OSHA-compliant ladder to ascend the wall. After a minute of climbing, Naminé saw the rooftop overhead and muscled-up onto it as fast as she could. She took a moment to rejoice in her survival before getting up and continuing on.

A running jump across seven feet of thin air brought her onto the opposite rooftop. Naminé looked up just in time to catch Xion's raven hair descending out of view. The blonde loped forward to the edge of the rooftop and turn-vaulted to lower herself down to the divot ladder, climbing down as quickly as she dared. Naminé let out a breath of relief when her feet touched the sidewalk.

"I really hope I don't have to do this again," she muttered, running forward to give Axel space to jump down.

The street wound around the buildings in the last part of the course, meaning that Naminé had to scale the buildings in her way if she was going to go in a straight line to the clock tower. Luckily the rest of the buildings weren't quite as dangerous to traverse as the office buildings were. The rest of the trek to the clock tower was relatively smooth after that.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Don't tell me we have to climb it," Naminé groaned, straining her neck to see the top of the tower. "This thing has to be two hundred feet tall!"

"Three hundred, actually," Xion grinned. "But no, we're not going to _climb_ it. That would be utter _lunacy_."

"No, really?" Axel sighed. "Roxas once tried to climb it. He spent a month in the hospital; it was a good thing it was summer break."

Naminé winced. "Are there any elevators?"

"Stairs," Xion said cheerfully.

The blonde groaned again. "You're kidding me."

"Today's _not_ your lucky day, then."

Double doors led into the tower's ground floor. The inside of the enormous edifice was mostly empty space, with massive girders and supports visible overhead. A massive alternating tread staircase encased by a metal tube rose up and up and up into the shadows of the tower's upper reaches. The inside of the stair silo, however, was well lit.

"How long does it usually take to reach the top?" Naminé asked, setting her foot on the first step.

"About half an hour, give or take."

"Shit…"

"Hey, watch your mouth," Axel growled.

Namine was exhausted by the time the trio reached the third bridge-balcony, an extension from the staircase to the wall of the clock tower every landing. Xion explained that the bridge-balconies were for maintenance purposes and were connected by scaffolding outside.

"Can we…use them…to take a…break?" Naminé panted, pulling herself up another step using the railing.

"Nope!" Xion sang. The brunette appeared unaffected by skipping up a hundred and fifty steps, but then again she'd presumably done this multiple times. "We go straight to the top, no breaks!"

"What…what if I…collapse?"

"I'll catch you," Axel replied. "And then I'll tickle you until you wake up."

She glared at the redhead, her fatigue forgotten. "What?"

"You heard me."

The blonde shivered. She was very ticklish. _Very_ ticklish. "Don't, please."

"Well I won't so long as you don't fall behind."

"I won't."

Thirty seconds later she broke that promise, falling to one knee before keeling over onto her side. Axel sighed, but wordlessly picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he slid his arms under her knees so that she was resting on his back.

Xion glanced at the two and smirked. "Axel, you look like you're her boyfriend."

"I have a crush on somebody else," Axel replied wearily. "Besides, Naminé's fat. I prefer slender girls."

Naminé scowled and whacked the top of Axel's head. "I'm not fat!"

"Then explain to me why my spine feels like it's about to snap in half."

"You're just exaggerating!" Naminé yelled, blushing furiously in embarrassment.

"Like hell I am. Have I ever exaggerated, Xion?"

"Not that I've heard," the brunette replied, grinning evilly.

"You guys suck," Naminé grumbled, whacking Axel's head again for good measure. "Let's change the subject. Axel, you said you had a crush on somebody—who is it?"

He smirked. "Not telling."

"Come on…"

"Yeah, I want to know, too," Xion said, glancing at Axel. "Who is it?"

Now Axel was blushing. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just because," Naminé cooed. "Just tell us. It's not like we're going to scream it from the rooftops…"

"With you, I don't know."

She sighed, knowing that Axel was impossible to budge when he had that tone. "Fine, be that way."

Naminé had recovered enough by the time the three reached the second-from-last bridge-balcony that she could walk up to the final balcony herself. The blonde set a hand on the door, shoved it open, and promptly froze in her tracks.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" Xion smiled, pushing past her onto the platform wrapping around the top of the clock tower. "I had the same reaction the first time, too."

'Beautiful' was an understatement. 'Dazzling', 'breathtaking', 'riveting', and/or 'stunning' were better adjectives.

The sun lanced every cloud between it and the clock tower, refracting the sunlight into its seven base colors. Naminé could see purple tinting the silver-white puffs of the clouds, and reddish gold illumination bathed the town below. Speaking of the town below, she could literally see the entirety of Twilight Town—the train station, off to her right side, the pentagonal Arthur Durand Boarding School off to her left, and a row of towers between the two jutting up like a platoon of Greek hoplites in shining bronze armor.

"Over here, Naminé."

The blonde looked to her left to see Xion and Axel sitting on the edge of the platform, their legs dangling over.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Naminé asked warily.

"It is," Xion said. "But so is the rest of the stuff we did this morning."

"Good point," the blonde admitted, walking over and carefully sitting next to Xion. "So what do you usually do when you're up here?"

"We just…watch the view," Axel replied, scratching his head. "You lose track of time up here…it's like you're the only person in the world."  
Only person in the world? That didn't sound very healthy…

Apparently Naminé's thoughts showed on her face, because Xion shook her head.

"We don't come here to escape," the brunette said. "Only Roxas did that; we deal with our problems in other ways."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Other ways? Lot of stuff I can infer from that…"

Axel and Xion looked a bit confused for a second, and then they burst into laughter.

"No, we're not stupid enough to do drugs," Axel chuckled. "By other ways, we mean parkour. Every member of the XIII has their own problems that they use parkour to run away from."

"Interesting…" Naminé murmured. "Could you tell me more? I mean, if I'm allowed to know, of course. I don't want to be offending anybody."

"You won't," Xion replied. "But some of the guys don't like talking about it."

"Then don't. Go on, please."

"Our Number I, Xemnas, formed this merry little band with his buddy Xigbar," Axel explained. "Both of them were parkour athletes and wanted to make a club of enthusiasts."

Number I? So this Xemnas person was whose choice of second-in-command Vexen had been bitching about.

"What they didn't count on was every single one of their members having a shitload of inner demons," Xion continued. "And Xemnas decided that he'd remake the XIII into something like Alcoholics Anonymous except that everyone knew each other."

"As for the problems of our screwed up little group? Well, to start off, Xaldin's a war vet—he's got PTSD from Wutai."

"Vexen's a cancer survivor, but his parents aren't."

"Lexaeus came home to find his wife's pieces stuffed into the fridge."

"Zexion has self-esteem problems; he was always a bit of a nerd and he got bullied for it."

"Saix has anger management issues. When he's in one of his moods, you would _not_ want to meet him in a dark alley. I know that from experience." Axel rubbed a long scar on the underside of his arm. "As for yours truly, I'm a pyromaniac. I've got it under control, but sometimes…"

"Demyx has a drinking problem. He's never told us why."

"Luxord has—_had_—a gambling addiction, but he's working on it."

"Marluxia had abusive parents, those ultra-religious types. He ran away from home when he was ten; I have no idea how he survived on the streets."

"Larxene's a sadomasochist and has sociopathic tendencies, and she _hates_ herself for them, which is kind of strange, really; it doesn't change her appearance in _my _eyes."

"I…Sora and I've got the gene for Huntington's disease. My mom died of it."

Naminé could only gawk at the information her brain was attempting to process. She couldn't imagine what these people must've gone through in their lives. And two of eleven were sitting right next to her, seeming perfectly unaffected…

"Let me recap what I just heard," she croaked. "Axel, you're a pyromaniac. You like setting things on fire."

"It's more complicated than that, but yeah, that's the gist of it."

"And Xion, you have Huntington's disease. You're going to die a vegetable," Naminé whispered, her eyes widening with horror. "That's…that's just fucked up."

Xion laughed mirthlessly. "No shit," the brunette muttered. "But I got over it—yeah I'm going die, but so what? At least I've got time left I can use to _really_ live. Sora feels the same way."

She had never known parkour could be all-consuming enough to let these people drown their sorrows in it, but she supposed that people could use anything to run away from

That made eleven people of the XIII. Xemnas and Xigbar presumably hadn't had these kinds of issues, judging by their original intent of starting a parkour _club_. That left—

"What about Roxas?"

The other two's eyes instantly took on a haunted look.

"Roxas…he had it the worst," Axel muttered. "He refuses to talk about it under any circumstances. I've told you that his mom died of a stroke, but that's literally all I know."

"What about his dad?" Naminé asked. She remembered hearing Rufus Shinra (shudder) mention a Lt. General Ansem Takahashi.

"His dad?" Axel sighed. "I didn't see much of _him_. All I know is that Mr. Takahashi was Roxas's stepfather and that he and Roxas weren't all that close."

Naminé began laughing. Xion and Axel gave her confused looks, but she didn't stop snorting and sniggering and chuckling at the idiot's nerve.

Then she stopped laughing and her face grew cold and angry.

"You're telling me that he broke my heart because he had a bad childhood?" Naminé growled in a half-mocking tone. "That's just pathetic. He has to know that."

Axel rolled his eyes. "He does. That's probably half the reason he hates himself."

"But why won't he let somebody help him?" Naminé sighed. All her anger had left her.

"You already have," Xion said simply. "You might've succeeded, but then Seifer interfered and everything went to hell."

_Seifer_. Naminé marveled at how she would both shudder in fear and snarl in rage at the very mention of that beanie head sonofabitch's _name_. The blonde drew her knees up to her chest and tried not to think about the run-ins she'd had with the bastard, lest she do something she'd regret in the fires of her resentment.

Memories of Roxas helped with that. Naminé relaxed as she remembered the first time she and he had kissed, the annoying but cute way he'd antagonized her on the first day, their first date at the karaoke bar, her first lesson in parkour…

She decided right then and there—Roxas had until the New Year. That was how long her patience would last.

If he didn't come back…

Naminé steeled herself. If he didn't come back, then they were over, simple as that.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Yes, I understand that parkour is almost never performed on so dangerous a setting as a rooftop. So sue me; I've been watching too many Assassin's Creed II videos lately.

"Jump" has been indicted into Kiome-Yasha and her crew's Four Colors of Love community. I'm honored that my writing's good enough for that. :D

A shout-out for all you Namixas fans: _Try Again_, by **AquaroseNamine**. It's Roxas/Naminé awesomeness and a pretty good read.

And yes, my lovely awesome epic treasured anonymous reviewers, I do care about what you have to say. **Random KH Fan Girl** stands out in particular. ALL. YOU. AWESOME. IN PARTICULAR. AXEL?

Axel: Got it memorized?

School starts next week for me—meaning, updates are going to be few and far between. I'll do my best to not have a repeat of this time, though.

Longass author note's over. Please review! ^^


	26. Author Note

It's been over two weeks and I haven't updated. I'm so, so, so, so sorry guys, but "Jump" is going on hiatus until "Lost and Found", which is easier to write, is complete. It's unfair to you guys if I make you wait even longer for Ch. 25. In addition, I'm not keeping up with my reviews—there's a bunch of stories I'm following whose latest chapters I haven't reviewed yet ("Before Angels Fall", "Try Again", "Hard to Get", etc.). To those authors, I apologize. I'm going on a review spree the moment I find the time to.

Again, I'm sorry. There's a bunch of reasons why I haven't found time to write—homework, AP Chemistry, BBS (it came out!), 3D homework, writer's block, plot bunnies consuming all of my imagination…

Yeah. But hopefully L&F will be done by November and I can start finishing up "Jump", huh? Please bear with me until that time. Thank you.

BTW: This author's note will be deleted when Ch. 25 arrives.


	27. Christmas Morning

Fucking FINALLY I finished Number 26. Man, this time was even worse than Ch. 18…

I apologize a thousand times over for such a late update, but I've been obsessively playing BBS and working on other stories. So I kind of got distracted from the story…plus, I've got school. And AP Chem. Which is a pain in the ass, I'll say that much.

And everybody who I've yet to review, sorry. I'm working on it, and maybe wondering if I'll get a bad reaction from anybody…no…no…I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…

Shinji: Hey, that's my line!

Oh right, and I got distracted by the Evangelion Archives. Damn you, **Gregg Landsman**, and that awesome, insanely addicting _NGE: Nobody Dies_ of yours!

BTW: There's a "Before Angels Fall" shout out in this chapter. See if you can find it~!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE KINGDOM HEARTS FRANCHISE.

I only own this story. Enjoy!

**Xxx XXX xxX**

"Wake up~!"

Naminé groaned. "Go away, Xion."

"WAKE UP!"

"Go aw—AAAAHHHH!"

A hand clamped down on her hip, another on her shoulder, and she felt rushing air and saw spinning walls before she landed on the carpet—and the tough ceramic flooring underneath. Ouch.

On Monday, Xion had made her wake up at eight o'clock in the morning.

On Tuesday, Xion had made her wake up at seven thirty.

On Wednesday, Xion had made her wake up at seven o'clock.

On Thursday, Xion had made her wake up at six thirty.

On Friday, Xion had made her wake up at six o'clock.

Today, Naminé was unceremoniously tossed out of her own bed at three in the morning.

"What the fuck was that for?" the blonde snapped, sitting up glaring through bleary eyes at the brunette. She wasn't normally this irritable or foul-mouthed, but considering the circumstances, that was excusable. And it was cold, too.

So fucking cold. Just like Xion's heart, the Genki Girl witch.

"It's Christmas morning!" the brunette cheered, jumping up and down. "We're going to go downstairs and open our presents!"

"It's _three_ in the _morning_, Xion."

"The earlier we do it the more time we have to play with them!"

"Xion, you're sixteen years old. _Act like it_."

The traceuse pouted and set her hands on her hips. "You're no fun at all, Naminé," she said.

"I'm a lot of fun _when I get enough sleep_," Naminé retorted, glaring at her roommate the entire way back to the bunk. The blonde heard something about "Riku and Zexion" and "going to borrow Mr. Wallace's megaphone" followed by the door slamming shut, but she didn't really care—better them than her.

She sighed and began twiddling her thumbs—she couldn't sleep, for some reason. Stupid Xion, stupid Christmas, stupid, stupid, stupid—

"Good morning, Miss Miyamoto."

Naminé screamed and somehow jumped up from a sitting position, smacking her head into the surprisingly solid forehead of a ghost boy. Vanitas reeled back, clutching at his noggin, even as she did the same.

"Perhaps I should have notified you of my presence," he groaned. He swallowed when his gaze lowered back onto her.

"No really?" she said, rubbing her bruised forehead. "And 3:00 A.M. doesn't count as morning."

"I was under the impression that the label 'A.M.' applied to any time in the morning," Vanitas replied. "Unless, of course, you do not usually wake up this early—am I correct?"

"Yes," Naminé smiled in a tone of honeyed venom. "Vanitas, do you know what the term 'get out before I eviscerate you' means?"

"Was that the subtlest threat you could come up with?"

"Considering that I'm half-asleep, I don't think that my brain or my manners or my self-restraint are functioning at peak capacity right now. Now get OUT!"

"Do you not wish to find out why I am here?"

She considered for a moment. The ghost probably wouldn't have appeared in her room without good reason. "Okay. Go on."

"Merry Christmas."

"ARGH…!"

Vanitas sniggered and disappeared just in time for the hurled pillow to fly through the space his head had been a moment before. Naminé scowled and flopped back onto her bunk, pulling the sheets up to her neck, and that was when she realized that she'd somehow shed her top in the middle of the night.

She turned deep, deep red.

Well, okay, Vanitas was a ghost. He'd probably seen a bunch of girls half-naked before, if he was into that sort of thing, and he certainly would have the abilities to carry that out. But somehow she knew he wasn't—his personality didn't seem like a pervert's.

That would explain why he'd been embarrassed instead of titillated at seeing in her in a nightie, but still.

"I'm overthinking this," Naminé sighed, turning on her side. Well, if she was up this early, she might as well get something done. That drawing of the clock tower wasn't going to finish itself, after all.

But the bed was so soft and so warm and so fluffy and so comfortable that Naminé found herself drifting into a gauzy haze…

**Xxx XXX xxX**

One ice blue eye cracked open. The other followed its twin a second later. Then Naminé saw what time it was.

"8:00?"

Shit, that meant she'd just wasted five hours sleeping!

The door banged open and Xion walked back in, her hands on her hips. The brunette looked furious, for some reason or another.

"Why didn't you wake up?" she demanded. "We could've gone down to the Christmas tree without any trouble, but _noooo_, you just _have_ to black out for _five hours_!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Naminé sighed, rubbing sleep-sand out of her eyes. Then she perked up. "Wait, did you say Christmas tree?"

"Yes…"

Before Xion could say anything else, Naminé had bolted out the door on a beeline for the elevator, too excited to remember that she wasn't wearing a—

DING.

Riku and Zexion stepped out of the elevator and promptly cried out, shielding their eyes with their arms. Naminé screamed and covered herself with her hands.

"Dammit Naminé, cover your tits!" Zexion shouted. A comment like that from a guy like him would've been hilarious if it weren't more embarrassing.

"Are you _trying_ to blind everybody?" Riku said. "That's not the little sister I know!"

"Sh-shut up!" Naminé cried, blushing furiously. "I-it was an accident!"

"Then why are you still standing here?"

Xion's arm snaked around the corner and pulled Naminé back into the dorm; the traceuse closed the door with a swift kick. At the same time, she thrust a fistful of clothes into the blonde's face.

"Get decent. Now."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Naminé muttered, embarrassment still roiling at her insides. "I'm never gonna live this down…"

When Naminé had put on the T-shirt and jeans, the two girls walked out to join the guys. Riku looked calmer now, likely because Naminé was his sister, but Zexion's face was still slightly ruddy.

"We won't talk about this if you don't," Riku said calmly.

"Deal," Naminé replied. She couldn't even look her brother in the eyes, she was so humiliated. Roxas probably would've laughed it off or cracked wise at her admittedly small bust size and gotten hurt for it—not to mention check out her rack.

Which she would've enjoyed.

Maybe.

Of course, that was a pretty damn big maybe, because she would've just as easily slapped Roxas silly for staring.

The foursome entered the elevator in silence, Xion glaring daggers at Riku the whole way for some reason. Riku made a "What?" gesture, waving his hands around in confusion. Xion crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin at Naminé. Riku's response was to gawk at his sister, then Xion, and furiously shake his head in denial—of what, nobody knew.

Zexion moved to Naminé's side. "Observe the ritual display of outrage made by the jealous female adolescent," he smirked. "This behavior is most fascinating, isn't it?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"," Naminé giggled. "But that works too."

"I heard that!" Xion snapped. "And I do _not_ like your brother, Naminé!"

"Suspiciously specific denial, much?" Zexion retorted. His pronunciation was perfect—no stumbling over the alliteration, no lisp, no mistakes at all. "Come now, Xion. I thought you were a better liar than that."

"I'm not lying!" the brunette traceuse protested, blushing furiously—proving Zexion was correct. "He's a disgusting, incestuous pervert!"

"Great, now she's emulating Soryu," Riku muttered, drawing a snicker from Zexion. "And how would you know that I'm a pervert? Last I checked, Naminé was the one who ran out of her room topless, not me."

The blonde kicked her brother, who didn't even react. "Shut up! I-it was an accident!"

"Sure it was," Riku smirked. "What girl couldn't resist me, even my own sister?"

Everybody stared at him. Xion spoke first.

"That's…ew. Just…ew, seriously. Beyond that, Naminé looks like your _mom_, Riku. Does the name Oedipus ring a bell for you?"

Thankfully, they reached the first floor before he could respond. The doors opened to reveal an almost blinding light emanating in loops and swirls around a giant green cone that reached up to the ceiling of the lobby thirty feet above. Naminé and Riku stared at the mammoth evergreen, eyes wide and jaws agape, previous argument completely forgotten.

The tree was decorated with glittering bands of holographic lights wrapped around it. Hundreds of candy canes and…multicolored orbs-bulbs-thingies (Naminé couldn't remember what they were called) hung on the evergreen needles. Hundreds of gift boxes were arrayed beneath the massive trunk and scores of students crowded the lobby, shouting and chattering about what they got for Christmas.

"That thing's a monster," Naminé said incredulously.

"How did you even get that tree in here?" Riku asked. "I'm pretty sure that the main door doesn't have the necessary clearance…"

Xion set one hand on her hip and pointed a defiant finger at the ceiling. "Through the power of friendship, of course!"

The effect was ruined when a box bounced off the back of her head. Sora, somehow cradling a veritable mountain of gifts, walked up to the group and handed Riku and Naminé their presents.

"Merry Christmas, guys," he grinned. "Don't mind my sister. Christmas is her favorite holiday, and she gets a little…crazy about it."

"Got that right," Naminé muttered, drawing a glare from her roommate.

Zexion stood off to the side, searching the crowd for somebody.

"I don't see them," he said worriedly. "Strange, they're usually down here first…"

"Who?"

"Axel and Larxene."

"They probably already got their stuff," Naminé murmured, setting her presents down on the floor. One in particular, a long, heavy cylindrical object, caught her attention. "Ooh, what's this?"

"Guys, we need to—"  
"They're probably banging," Xion said nonchalantly, picking up the strange gift. "And if they are, good for them. They finally managed to spit it out."

The brunette tore off the wrapping paper, ignoring Naminé's scandalized protests, and let a triumphant whoop as she held the…thing up for all to see.

"I knew it! It's a Keyblade!"

The "Keyblade" was a double-shafted, silver-green, with a blue-gold star-shaped head, with two angel wings curving around the handle. A star-shaped charm hung from the end of a string attached to the pommel. A word was engraved on the metal of the blade—Oathkeeper.

Entranced, Naminé took the sword from Xion. The blonde gently ran a finger along the smooth, reassuringly cool metal, marveling at the fine craftsmanship.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "I didn't know that Roxas knew how to forge swords…"

"How do you know that Roxas made it?" Riku asked.

She turned, startled. "I—I don't know. It just…did you make it?"

"No."

"Roxas definitely made it," Xion remarked. "He's always been good with his hands."

Riku's brow began twitching. "Oh really?"

"Not that way, pervert," she retorted. She gazed at the Keyblade. "But he made both me and Axel one of those, too—Oblivion and Frolic Flame. They were signs of our friendship."

"Is that thing a real sword?" Sora asked, stepping away. His sister had clearly never told him about the Keyblade. "Because if it is…"

"It's a prop, not a weapon, you coward," Xion replied, smirking at her brother's discomfort. "But yeah, it can do some damage if you swing it hard enough."

"Right…"

"Wait a minute, where's Zexion?" Naminé said, turning around. "Wasn't he standing next to Riku a second ago?"

"I dunno, maybe…" Xion's voice trailed off and she paled. "They _didn't_."

"Didn't _what_?" Riku growled.

And then they realized where the missing traceur was going—and why.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Kairi sat on the edge of the rooftop, contemplating the ground far below her. Any other person might have been frightened by the height…but she knew that a fall from even the highest skyscraper would not hurt her. Vanitas would protect her.

She turned around at the sound of footsteps.

"Hi, Roxas."

"Hey, Kairi."

The blond carelessly plopped down next to her. His confidence, on the other hand, was born out of his parkour skills.

"Still thinking about Sora?" he asked.

She nodded glumly.

"Now you know how I feel about Naminé," Roxas said, leaning back. "When're you going to spit it out?"

The redhead drew her knees up to her chest. "I don't know. I'm just…I feel so guilty now that I know the truth…"

"About what?"

"About Naminé. And…"

His jaw dropped. "You thought that—"

"Yep," she sighed.

"Wow," he muttered. "Okay, didn't see that one coming."

They were silent for a moment.

"Thanks for making Seifer back off," Kairi said. She shuddered. "I ask myself why I even accepted that first date."

"Hey, you have to admit the bastard can be charming when he wants to be."

She laughed. "You've got some pretty low standards, man."

"Naminé doesn't think so," Roxas said, pouting.

"Well, she's in love with you. So she doesn't count."

He flinched.

"When're _you_ going to spit it out to _her_?" Kairi asked. "You can't just make her wait forever, Roxas. She'll move on, and one day she'll forget about you."

"If she does, I deserve it," he mumbled. "I ran away from her. I rejected her. She has every right to forget about me, because I broke her heart."

"That's exactly the same mistake I made," Kairi retorted. She grabbed a fistful of the traceur's blond spikes and pulled his ear to her mouth. "Approach her again, you idiot. Apologize to her. Don't repeat how I messed up with Sora."

"It's easier for girls, Kairi," Roxas snapped, slapping away her hand. "Your gender can screw with a guy's will something fierce to get what you want. You could walk up to Sora and kiss him and work out everything. I can't do that."

"How do you know that Naminé doesn't want it to be that simple?"

"Because she's moved on," he muttered. He sniffled. "She doesn't need me anymore. She doesn't want me anymore. She knows that she can be happy without me."

"Maybe it's because she's set her mind on waiting for you," Kairi suggested. "And that means you've got a deadline to tell her. Don't screw this up, Roxas."

"I screwed up everything in my life. What's not to say it won't happen again?"

"Stop being a whiny emo bitch," Kairi growled. "Yes, your fear is legitimate. You've made a lot of mistakes in your life, but this time you're getting a second chance to fix it. Are you telling me that you're willing to let Naminé go without a fight?"

"You make me sound like a wife-beater."

She palmed her face. "That's not the point."

"And I'm not going to ruin it for Naminé," Roxas muttered. "I'm just going to screw up again."

Kairi ground her teeth and grabbed the boy's collar.

"Listen to me!" she hissed. "Yes, you and Naminé are going to have fights. You'll mess up again—that's inevitable. The difference is that you have to try to reconcile with her, not run away just because she yelled at you for picking the wrong wallpaper. She loves you, you love her, and don't you dare give me that denial crap, Takahashi."

"I wasn't going to, and Naminé would never yell at me for picking the wrong wallpaper. She would glare at me."

"You see?" Kairi said triumphantly. "You know her well enough to know that. You shouldn't give that up just because of one mistake and _especially_ not when she's willing to give you another chance!"

He sighed. "I guess…"

"Look, I'll make this simple for you," Kairi said. "You can talk to her and get her back, or you can run away from her again and lose her forever. Make your choice."

Roxas didn't answer.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

Naminé, Sora, Xion, and Riku burst out of the elevator, dashing around the corner of the fourteenth-floor hallway. The top floor was reserved for the most privileged students—Naminé didn't really get how the system worked, but in a nutshell whoever paid more got better housing.

It showed, too. The fourteenth floor had much larger (and somehow, the same number of) rooms than the floors below.

"Where's Larxene's room?" Riku asked.

"Room 347, I think," Xion replied. "Or 346, I'm not sure."

And then they heard the yelling. Zexion's yelling, Axel's yelling, Larxene's yelling.

"347, definitely."

Sora got to the door first and stopped dead in his tracks when he caught a whiff of the smell—anger, shame, lust. Mostly the latter.

"Well, fuck," he muttered. "This ain't good."

"What do you—holy SHIT!"

"When I said they were probably banging, I wasn't being serious. You guys all know that, right?"

Zexion and a half-naked Axel were yelling into each other's faces. Both of them looked as if they were about to start brawling right in Larxene's room; the disheveled, haggard girl was sitting on her bed, and she looked like she didn't know whether to be angry or guilty or both. She also looked like she had a really, really bad headache, and not from the yelling.

"How could you?" Zexion shouted. "You betrayed her trust!"

"She wanted it, okay?" Axel yelled back. "She had an hour to tell me no, but she didn't!"

"You got her drunk!"

"She knew what was going to happen!"

"You pressured her!"

"No, I didn't!" Axel hissed, clenching his fists. "We're in love. Isn't that enough of a reason?"

"How do you know—?"

"Zexion."

He turned. Larxene had gotten up, her hand holding onto a bedpost for support.

"It was my decision to do this, okay?" she whispered. "I do care about Axel. Maybe enough to love him, and certainly enough to sleep with him."

She looked past Zexion, towards the stunned foursome standing in the doorway.

"I hope you won't judge me for this, guys," Larxene said. She smiled weakly. "I mean, we did use protection, but…"

They had never known. Naminé could only stare at Zexion, speechless, unable to comprehend what he must be going through right now.

"Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior," Xion muttered, her eyes wide. "Axel, you…and Larxene, you…how? When?"

"Well, we…gah."

Larxene clutched her head, grimacing. Axel was instantly by her side, gently lowering her back to the bed.

What did it feel like to find out that the person you loved had feelings for someone else? Naminé could only wonder, could only try to sympathize, because Zexion had somehow kept his crush on Larxene secret. But then again, this was Zexion, Snark Knight—if he hadn't wanted it visible, nobody would've figured it out.

Riku stepped forward and tentatively set his hand on Zexion's shoulder.

"You okay, man?" he asked.

Without a word, Zexion shoved him away and ran out. Naminé could see a flash of tears as he dashed past her.

"You just couldn't keep it in your pants, could you?" Xion groaned, palming her face. "Nice job, Axel. You and Larxene just tore Zexion's heart to itty-bitty pieces."

Headmaster Xehanort chose that moment to walk in.

**Xxx XXX xxX**

I spent half of November on this chapter, writing and rewriting it to meet my standards—which are a lot higher, thanks to the time I spent on the Eva Archive.

This chapter may have some continuity problems. Meaning I have to go back through every single effing chapter and edit them so that they fit to what's in this chapter. ARGH. I don't think I'm going to make the effort.

And why is Vanitas acting so OOC? Because Christmas is a special occasion for him, as in morbidly special. It has to do with why he stays at the school.

Please review! *crosses fingers and hopes that he'll get reviews*


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